La resa dei conti

There were batches of such craps twenty years ago, empty stories, empty characters but pulled by good story telling and sometimes excellent photography and directing too. Fancy junk, juicy garbage, luxurious crap. This one is an excellent time waster destined to video market at this time. The good point is the hired killer character played by Michael Madsen. An awesome anti hero role, the kind of character which he had many times, and Gary Busey is also worth the ride in this not so bad high rate junk.

This is modern, skeleton Noir. Within that framework, it is certainly viewable, with Tilly a standout as the femme fatal. In monochrome color, first-person narrative flashback, a jazzy soundtrack, interesting camerawork, and betrayal themes, it appears as a true genre piece. Unfortunately, the script plus the filmmakers' glint toward Schwarzenegger-like action, ruin any dark ambiance they establish. It's all here: the tough but soft-hearted hero, viperous femme, over-the-top bad guy, the black sidekick slated for torture/death. And it all rapidly blows away like gunsmoke during the cartoonish shootouts.

Madsen is in typical Rourke-mode, but with a little more compassion squinting his eyes. Tilly is all whiskey-throated slur as Rina and little-girl whine as Cathy. The movie definitely needs more of Rina, because, with the exception of Busey's Wild Man, she's the cast's only interest. The giveaway is in the prologue, where, in sepia-tone, slow-mo, and voice-over narrative, Madsen labors his death scene, blazing away with dual, silver-toned guns and a monotone from a mortally-wounded script. Ultimately, it boils down to the bullets and body count, without enough desperation or resignation to warrant the blood.

I read the comments before seeing this flick, but I disagree. This film is effective in its combination of a reasonable plot, worthy acting, a good cast, and violent as well as soft segments. The two roles played by Jennifer Tilly were believable. Michael Madsen did a great job as the thoughtful tough guy. Also, the theme of loyalty or lack thereof gave the film more meaning.

I rented this movie because I like both the leads, namely, Michael Madsen and Jennifer Tilly. Well, they (along with Robert Loggia and Gary Busey) play to type, the cynical but thoughtful man with a gun and the female fatale that you would not want to cross. The problem is that this movie is basically all atmosphere without much of a story to make it that interesting. Madsen is a world weary hitman who has a conscience -- he can't kill Tilly's innocent twin (Tilly as an innocent is almost worth the price of the rental), so he protects her no matter how dangerous it might be. Loggia and Busey complete the typecasting as mob members, Busey giving his typical performance as a bit of a nut. It is probably worth the price of the rental for fans of the genre (I guess film noir fits) and the stars, but it all seemed by the numbers to me. Madsen in particular deserves better roles -- you are better off checking out "House in the Hills"

Michael Madsen, Jennifer Tilly, Gary Busey, and Robert Loggia, are totally wasted in this film, mainly because the script reads like it went through a blender. Characters appear out of nowhere with zero development. You've seen it all before, only there perhaps it made a little bit of sense. I mean, Michael Madsen knows Jennifer Tilly's Sister for about fifteen minutes and falls for her. People show up in locations for gun-play, with you the viewer, having no idea how they knew how to get there. Forget the fine cast, skip this movie, and avoid wearing out your finger with the fast forward button. You have been warned. - MERK