Pawn - Fai la tua mossa

Pawn is a low budget crime thriller set in a diner which is robbed. But the robbers have bitten off a little bit more than they can chew and events quickly spiral out of control as it turns out the diner they have robbed is owned by a mafia guy.

That's all I can tell you without spoiling the plot and that's the best way to go into this movie - knowing as little as possible.

The opening sequence sets the movie up nicely for what later unfolds to be a highly entertaining watch full of deception, conspiracy and twists aplenty. It's tense and keeps you hooked right through until the closing credits.

The best part of this film is the fact that just when you think you're getting to grips with what's happening, you're hit with another twist.

The cast is strong with quite a few recognizable faces putting in good performances to contribute to a solid and well constructed script. The majority of the movie takes place inside the diner but there is enough going on within those walls to mask this fact.

Overall, I enjoyed this film. I went in knowing very little and came out very impressed. I was entertained from start to finish which is all you can really ask for.

Pawn will not win any awards, but if a good entertaining thriller is your thing then you will not be disappointed 3.5/5

I watched this movie on one of those "lazy" days (it was the last day of my week-long vacation). I was bored and didn't want to do anything so I popped in a movie.

I quite enjoyed the movie until the ending. I think the writers ran out of weed or something and just got bored writing. The movie tried to build up all these possibilities and then in the end, it just abandoned everything. I found that I just sat there asking, "what about the..."

The rest of the story was fine: acting was good, lighting / atmosphere was quite pro, make-up / wardrobe was excellent. I think Michael Chiklis is a fine actor and in this movie, he really got to show how bad-ass he can be as an antagonist. Also, Jessica Szohr is nice eye- candy. :)

If you're bored on a lazy day with nothing else to do but entertain the mind, or if you're out conquering Pandaria, pop in this movie for a go.

Pawn, is a surprisingly grisly movie that deserves a top ranking with straight to video releases. The performances aren't as terrible as most of these types of films consist of and you really get invested into the characters. For such a film, it's screenplay isn't as full with stale or artificial lines and it actually embodies it's characters. On paper the plot seems extremely stale/generic but with it's execution of a fresh style and simplicity it ends up to transform. Whitaker and Liota's role are really minor roles but it's such a treat to see them in a film like this. The plot is a short term one but the film makes it work by analyzing every single detail, so I dare you to find a plot hole. With an over average script that contains a scene of really smart symbolism, the actors can not really mess it up. Action wise the film does not shy away, probably due to the fact of the directors background in being a cinematographer for the Saw films. For a crime/robbery flick it isn't as brainless as you could have been led to believe and it really captures the scene in a full scale. Overall, the film is an acceptable straight to video release that contains sudden twists, fresh plot, and great character development

Generally good acting brings an immediate realism to a low budget film that's otherwise unrealistic in certain ways. Despite a few draggy spots, PAWN is tense and engrossing, with some clever twists. It can be difficult to place who's what in a movie that's this short yet has this big a cast, but that's all part of the fun. If viewed carefully, PAWN will make pretty good sense in the end.

Particularly good performances by Sean Faris and the three (Michael Chiklis, Max Beesley, and Cameron Denny) who play the robbers.

Definitely worth seeing if you like crime,suspense,and that sort of thing.

But unfortunately as things unravel, the movie loses its touch. There are quite a few good actors in it (Chiklis, Reed to name a few) and they're trying their best. For a low budget movie this is fairly well shot too. Of course it's almost entirely one location (with a few exceptions) and you'll either like that or not.

For a low budget movie, it's always better to have a few, but interesting locations. So that's a positive side aspect, until you realize there could be more to it. The story, especially towards the end, loses its drive and motivation a bit and gets a little too tricky for its own good. Sometimes simpler is better, if well thought trough ...