A Cartada Final

The Score seems to start off slow for some, but the film's speed is important for the movie. It shows how DeNiro's character lives his life and his life is essential to the plot. "One more" is what he has been saying for years, but this time he means it and will do whatever it takes to make sure nothing goes wrong. Edward Norton's character gives Bob the most grief because he isn't sure if Norton will fly straight. Norton's performance is doubly magnificent and anyone who hasn't seen this actor in action is missing out big time. Brando delivers about 5 scenes that are right on key and provides some comic relief that fits nicely. Overall a really good film that will leave audiences with their jaws on the floor.

Nick Wells is a patient, professional, old school thief who works alone. A narrow escape convinces him that it is time to pack it up and settle down with his casual girlfriend Diane. However his middleman Max comes to him with a big score worth millions each and begins to try and convince him to do it. Acting as a downside to the job is Jack Teller, the guy with the insider information who Nick must work with as partners on the job. Even as trust is built between the three men, little things begin to be revealed that could put the whole job at risk.

Very few films are excellent in every regard, some have great plots but low production values where others have multimillion budgets but awful stories. The Score is rightly sold on it's cast for it as little else to offer an audience other than that. The plot is overly familiar and, while not bad, certainly doesn't hold any great surprises for anyone who's seen any `one last job' movies before. The telling is a little slow but holds the attention pretty well, while the job itself is unspectacular but enjoyable.

What makes it worth watching over many other similar twisty heist movies is the cast, who manage to make the material seem better by their inclusion. None of them really have anything special to work with but they all do well and do professional jobs. Norton is probably the standout of the film as he plays several types of character and is good in them all. De Niro does a reasonable job without being flashy or looking like he's making too much of an effort. Brando is OK but now always seems to have a half smile on his face to suggest he isn't taking anything seriously. I don't understand why Bassett bothered to be involved as her part is very small and doesn't add very much to the film – maybe it was a bigger part in the script?

Overall this film is basically nothing new and can be seen in many different forms at video stores world-wide. The thing that helps lift this a little above the rest is not the plot but the talented cast that have been assembled to run it. I enjoyed it and think it is worth watching for that.

Yes, it's a cliché script, but it's a good one. De Niro, Norton and Brando in a classic heist movie from 20 years ago. What do you want more? It's 2 hours of oldschool moviewatching. Not too deep, no psychology, just a plan to rob an artefact and everything that can go wrong with that. De Niro and Norton team up with Brando on the background doing his cottonball in mouth dialogues. The movie delivers what it promises.

The caper doesn't have a perfect plot -- either as a movie or a crime. Too much is left to chance or quite formulaic. How many times have we seen a soon-to-retire/just-retired master thief called up by a life-long friend/partner/lover for one last job with a huge pay-off and forced but whatever means to work with a young, arrogant unknown? But despite my best efforts to dismiss this movie, the three main actors are captivating ... passing the viewers' attention around as effortlessly as the Harlem Globetrotters with a basketball. It's well-worth seeing just for the acting, but it's sad to think what was missed by not giving these guys a better script.

Seven of ten from me.

First of all, I didn't hate this movie. The acting was good, the locations were colorful and interesting, and I wasn't bored. (Even though the plot of the movie moved slowly, each scene was interesting for one thing or another.) But we've all seen this basic plot many times. Sometimes seeing a formula once again can be fun, if it's filled with energy or a different perspective. But this movie just seemed content to present what we've seen before, and add nothing new to them. If you're bored this movie will do, but I don't think it's one to go out of your way for.

(P.S. - Fans of Brando and Bassett will be disappointed; not only are their roles very small, but their parts could easily have been written out with no real consequence to the story.)