I picked up this movie for a few dollars at a local discount store in town. It advertised Denis Leary & Joe Mantegna, plus the box promised "In the style of The Usual Suspects and Reservoir Dogs". I bought it and threw it on my DVD shelf, not really thinking about it. But last night I was in the mood for some crime, so I threw it in.
I really don't know what to say. The film just kind of falls flat with a whole lot of unnecessary dialogue. I think they were trying to go for a Tarantino thing by having incredibly long scenes of Leary explaining where he wants his money to go or the beauty of Rodgers and Hammerstein, but while somewhat humorous in the end it just seems like padding. That's not to say Leary makes it boring, quite the opposite. Leary is well known for his tirades. And for what he has to work with, he actually keeps the long dialogue bits somewhat watchable.
Joe Mantegna does his best, but his role just isn't very well written. He's mostly there to be a quiet straight-man for Leary's insane ramblings. When given a chance he has shining moments, but those are few and far between.
But as for the rest of the film, it just kind of falls flat without any fanfare. The script is too long and kind of confusing, if only for the fact that major plot points are surrounded by stilted dialogue chunks so you can't really pay attention to grab hear them. Editing is very by the book, however there's a few aesthetically pleasing moments of lighting and direction that might surprise you.
All in all, if you're a strong fan of either Leary or the modern crime genre, it's worth a look for only it's hour and a half run time. But if you have something better or just not in the mood, this film isn't going to turn any heads.
