L'inglese

Soderbergh is a really odd director. His movies have run the gamut from the wacky, self indulgent surrealism of 'Schizopolis' to the pandering, sell-out mediocrity of 'Ellen Brockovich'. He's really hard to get a handle on. 'Out Of Sight' was stylish with an outstanding cast but left me cold. 'Traffic' featured a handful of great performances, most notably Benicio Del Toro's, but was overall simplistic, unconvincing and cliched. For my money his strongest achievements to date have been his overlooked noir-ish 'Underneath', and this, his involving revenge drama 'The Limey'.

Terrence Stamp, a fine actor who has appeared in more than his fair share of bad movies, really takes this role and runs with it. He radiates dignity and power as Wilson, the English career criminal out to avenge the death of his estranged daughter. My only problem with his performance, and the movie as a whole, is his Cockney accent, which borders on caricature. If you can get over that hurdle you'll be impressed by the depth of his performance.

Peter Fonda, who has never impressed me much as an actor in the past (not even his much lauded role in the overrated 'Ulee's Gold'), is also fine as the sleazy record producer who Wilson suspects of wrongdoing. Stamp and Fonda obviously relish playing these characters, and their chemistry together is the cornerstone of the movie. Both actors are supported by an impressive array of old and new faces - including a surprisingly effective Lesley Anne Warren (her best since 'Cop'), the always watchable Luis Guzman ('Boogie Nights', 'Carlito's Way', etc.), blasts from the pasts Barry Newman (cult classic 'Vanishing Point') and Joe Dallessandro (former Warhol superstar), and future star in the making Nicky Katt ('Strange Days', 'SubUrbia').

Soderbergh cleverly uses footage from Ken Loach's kitchen sink drama 'Poor Cow' for flashbacks, and plays upon Stamp and Fonda's 60s screen personas, but the film is no exercise in mere nostalgia. 'The Limey' is a rarity in Hollywood these days - an intelligent, thoughtful, well crafted and acted adult movie. I liked it a lot.

The first time I saw this movie, I hated it. Then, 10 years later, I gave it another try when I saw that Soderbergh was the director. I'm really glad I did.

Some of the scenes are hard to believe. Like the warehouse scene. Why would he walk into that so unprepared? In the real world, they would have just killed him, but then the movie would have only been 20 minutes long. This was the scene that caused me to hate the movie when I first saw it. But this time I overlooked it.

What moved me on the second watching was the subtlety and the sadness in the movie. You feel the sadness of him not being able to be with his daughter as she grew up.

As for Peter Fonda, he's just annoying. The way he's cleaning his teeth with the toothpick, and the annoying conversations he has with his girlfriend are pathetic and painful to watch. But maybe thats the point. Also, the two pool-playing hit men are annoying and Soderbergh attempts to make them interesting is a little over-elaborate. Like the scene where the one guy is talking to trash about all the actors and extras as he watches the movie set.

But the scene with the DEA agent at the end accidentally slipping the file to Wilson was an interesting scene. Wilson's whole speech there was pretty interesting when he tells the DEA agent - I think we're after the same thing. But again, a little hard to believe that the DEA agent is just gonna let him go after Fonda. Like they wouldn't have shown a picture of Wilson to the witness from the warehouse shooting. At which point, the witness would ID Wilson, and Wilson gets arrested. But no, the DEA is gonna let him go after Fonda, and then after all the dead bodies pile up at Big Sur, they're gonna let him fly out of the country. Yeah right. Again, pretty hard to believe.

So, while I think this is a flawed movie from a plot believability standpoint, it still has many interesting and poignant scenes, and I was able to overlook the flaws because I was entertained and riveted throughout the movie.

A thrilling and suspenseful movie about a thief ex-convict called Wilosn (Terence Stamp) who sets out to find the man he considers responsible for his daughter's death. However , he quickly finds that he is completely out of place with no understanding of the culture he finds . Wilson is a Cockney career criminal who gets out a Brit prison and immediately flies to L. A. and in his investigations is helped by another ex-con (Luis Guzman) . Together they learn that his daughter (Melissa George) had been having an affair with a record producer (Peter Fonda) , who is presently in love with another young woman (Amelia Henlie) . Investigations lead him to surprise the locals not only with his rhyming slang , but with his hard-man resilience , witty and ingenuity . Moreover , an aging actress (Lesley Ann Warren) helps him , as well. Vengeance knows no boundaries !. Tell Him I'm coming !.

There's so much going for this movie with vastly separate lives of two veteran outlaw men : ageing Terence Stamp and Peter Fonda , colliding in an interweaving story of killings , revenge , violence and redemption , being well written by screenwriter Lem Dobbs . Stirring , fun and as effortlessly assured , in its own relativity short budget way , as ¨out of Sight¨, this consistly attractive, imaginatively comic film milks the fish-out-water formula for all it is worthwhile , and anything else . Adding colorful images and enjoyable soundtrack by Cliff Martinez that are perfectly in keeping with the light , relaxed mood . The performances are all terrific , while director Soderbergh seemingly effortless mastery of his medium goes from strength to strength , while stories cross and collide . Sixties icons Terence Stamp and Peter Fonda show that age has not whitered their performance chops in this vengeance thriller in which an extremely volatile ex-convict investigates the death of his daughter learning she was involved with self-important record producer . Soderbergh's flashblack sequences make use of footage Ken Loach's 1967 movie ¨Poor Cow¨ which featured Stamp as a young thief named Wilson along with Carol White . Main cast is frankly well and it's given sterling support cast . Terence Stamp gives a nice acting as an ex-con , fresh out of prison , goes to L. A. to try to learn who murdered his daughter . While Peter Fonda is fine as a mobster who has an obvious fondness for young girls . They're well accompanied by good secondaries with plenty of familiar faces , such as : Lesley Ann Warren , Luis Guzmán , Barry Newman , Joe Dallesandro , Nicky Katt , Amelia Heinle , Melissa George , William Lucking , among others.

The picture was well photographed by cameraman Edward Lachman and competently directed by Steven Soderbergh , the result is a strong entry for thriller buffs . Soderbergh's customary playfulness with the narrative deftly underlines his ordinary trademarks. Soderbergh made such films as Kafka (1991), King of the Hill (1993), The Underneath (1995) and Gray's Anatomy (1996), which many believed to be disappointments. In 1998, Soderbergh made Out of sight (1998) , his most critically and commercially successful film since Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989). Then, in 2000, Soderbergh directed two major motion pictures that are now his most successful films to date : Erin Brockovich (2000) and Traffic (2000). These films were both nominated for Best Picture Oscars at the 2001 Academy Awards and gave him the first twin director Oscar nomination in almost 60 years and the first ever win. He won the Oscar for Best Director for Traffic (2000) at the 2001 Oscars . Rating : 6.5/10 . Notable , better than average , well worth watching.

Low-key thriller/drama about an ex-con seeking revenge on the man that caused his daughters death. That's the surface of this very interesting and fascinating movie from director Soederbergh. There's more than meets the eye, and the patient viewer will be highly rewarded.

This is, in my point of view, a film about all our efforts to review our own lives - i.e. trying to make memories of our past fit in with the reality of today. To try to understand all sides of an event between two people; how actions we take, and decisions we make, makes a difference in the long run in our lives.

Wonderfully directed and edited, this movie is really alive, and shines with various tricks and treats of pure movie magic. The score is perfect, and the acting is great (Stamp in the lead is amazing). The way the film makers intertwine dialogue and voice over is fascinating, and reminds me of the films by French movie makers in the sixties (the French "New Wave").

Obviously not in everyone's taste since this movie is quite demanding in attention and pace, this is still one of the best films ever from director Soederbergh. Rating: 9/10.

For modern-day revenge movie, this is unusually low-key and pretty good. It's nothing super but it sneaks up on you. It might bore you, but it might not:. It's really hard to say.

If you enjoy a character study by an interesting actor (Terrence Stamp) you might like this. But, beware, it has its slow moments. What it is, is simply another revenge tale, so often told but so often fun to watch. This one is about a British criminal (Stamp) getting out of jail, finding out that something bad had happened to his daughter in Los Angeles, and going for the man (Peter Fonda) he feels is responsible for that.

There is a bit too much flashback in here, so you have to be prepared to put up with that. Of note, the filmmakers used actual film footage from a 1967 film of Stamp to show him in his younger days.

What I did really enjoy was Stamp's vocabulary and the interesting looks on his face. The supporting cast also adds nicely to this story, particularly Barry Newman, who plays Fonda's bodyguard. There isn't a lot of action in here but when it does occur, it's pretty intense.