Foolproof

Foolproof was the largest domestic opening for a Canadian film. Roughly 2 million in prints and advertising was wasted on what was a truly an abysmal caper film. I was hoping for it to do well, felt the need to cheer for the cinematic home team but after seeing it I tried to understand why so much money was sunk into a film without a chance. AT the heart of the story lies a trio of friends led by the talented Canadian export Ryan Reynolds. They stage "foolproof" capers as a fun thing to do as friends. This was the first script obstacle which was terribly wonky and hard to get over but we move on. Enter bad guy, played with the stereotypical menace by David Souchet, another good actor whose talents were wasted by the director. What ensues is a ridiculous story which is so poorly written that the film can't possibly survive it's own running time. It tries to be a high impact crime caper full of twists and turns. The problem is that like many great caper films, the script has to be airtight. This script was no where near production ready. Another problem is that Foolproof didn't have the budget that caper films require in order to be successful. They blew their load on one or two scenes and the rest of the film looks like a TV movie. It's sad that this film died such a public death. It makes it so much harder for other Canadian films to get out there. While I admire the risk taken on Foolproof's domestic release, I'm saddened that they blew a bunch of cash releasing a mediocre film, that never had a chance.

This is a movie I rented pure on the back cover and because of the trailer. The story after all is interesting; a couple of people pretending to do heists get caught by reality.

With such a plot one takes into account a certain level of disbelief and far fetched events but this movie however takes the level just a bit too far. For example, no time is spent on telling how the characters get their extensive knowledge of almost all high tech alarms and a simple picture is enough for them to crack any system. Furthermore these people.. all very young and only one of them seems to have a job have all the latest gadgets available to them... 007 would envy their setup.

Even if one takes this as part of the popcorn this movie is - which I didn't- there are more disturbing factors.

Like the female lead who is about as convincing as Halle Berry in Catwoman with her "I am gonna kick his ass" attitude. For pure torture rewind the first time she confronts the body guard of the bad guy.. this is so painfully bad it hurts. The bad guy never got caught - at least so is told to us- for someone who never got caught he acts stupid the whole movie , some guys must have a lot of luck. No wonder David Suchet looks embarrassed the whole movie.

The "climax" itself has a nice idea behind it - story of this movie, lots of nice ideas- but the execution makes you shake your head in disbelief. The few twists that are behind it make entrapment a masterpiece.

Actually this whole movie feels like an under budget TV pilot. If this is the best Canada has to offer mainstream nowadays I even start to think about re-watching 21 jump street.

This film is even lower as the nobrainer it is made to be, it doesn't show any respect for its audience and takes itself far too serious. If you have anything better to do with your life.. watching paint dry.. clip your toenails please do it and avoid this stinker.

I rented this video on a whim as I enjoy heist flicks, but went in expecting really grade B material. I ended up thoroughly enjoying this film! Ryan Reynolds and the cast were funny without overdoing it and worked well together. The film wasn't burdened with cheesy dialogue, hokey special effects and the such. Throughout it maintained a smart approach toward keeping the characters in the forefront. Yes, the heist sequences were detailed and decent in their own right and is on par with that of Entrapment but maybe even better: cool to watch without it being way, way over the top. But we never lose sight of the three central characters. It's finding these small niche gems that make watching films an adventure.

Finally, a heist movie that doesn't have any noticeable plot holes, intriguing concept, and for Canadian viewers, doesn't attempt to hide a major Canadian city as somewhere in America.

Normally, I'm put off by action movies because of the plot holes and repetitiveness of so many of them. So "Foolproof" came as a pleasant treat- there is a MAJOR twist in the plot that you will just have to watch for yourself.

Watching "Foolproof" was like reading a nice mystery novel on a winter afternoon, (as it happens, I saw this movie on a snowy afternoon!)

If this is the future of Canadian film, more please!

This movie was outstanding! Clever, funny, exciting, and Canadian. I'm quite proud to see this film on the big screen. I'm even more proud of the fact that the film makers decided to base the story in Toronto. Too often has Toronto doubled for other cities in films, it was refreshing to see the "T dot O" being its good old self.

Until I saw this movie, Ocean's 11 (the remake, not the boring original) was hands-down favourite heist movie. In my opinion, FoolProof is practically dead even with Ocean's 11 on sheer cleverness. I don't want to spoil anything, but suffice it to say that the plot surrounding the heist and the "thieves by mistake" is brilliant, twisting, and...foolproof!

The characters were expertly played, with Ryan Reynolds really shining in his performance. He came across as smart, quirky, and of course very funny. His comic timing blended very well with the tense heist drama.

The great part about FoolProof is that, unlike Ocean's 11, it didn't try to hype itself up with some veteran all-star cast to try and sell more tickets. Ryan Reynolds has significant star power, but I'm not sure if the fratboy fans who say Van Wilder will warm up to this much more dynamic role. Only time will tell I suppose. Either way, if you're a Canadian, support your film industry and check out this stellar movie!