A Cartada Final

Yep, it's another clichéd script: Career cat burglar Nick (Robert De Niro, Meet the Parents) is about to take on a nearly impossible heist that requires his joining forces with a talented but brash young accomplice, Jackie (Edward Norton, American History X), whom he doesn't particularly like. The dubious alliance, arranged by Nick's longtime friend and fence, Max (Marlon Brando, Don Juan deMarco), throws a wrench into Nick's plan to retire from crime and settle down with his lady love, Diane (Angela Bassett, Supernova).

Uh-huh. The old, "One more job, then I'll retire," routine. But that's where the routine ends. The trio of brilliant lead actors transcend the plot, and overcome the sometimes sluggish direction (courtesy of Frank Oz, who did Bowfinger and many other comedies -- and children's flicks, such as The Indian in the Cupboard). It's an absolute pleasure from start to finish, just to watch and study these men -- but then, they could probably be taking turns reading the phone book and make it seem fascinating. (Angela Bassett is excellent too, but she is unfortunately relegated to the one-dimensional, obligatory "girlfriend role" here.)

The score is a big one: a 16th century royal scepter worth $30 million dollars. It's locked away in the basement of The Customs House in Montreal, Canada, and security is getting tighter by the day. Jackie infiltrates the House, posing as "Brian," a janitor afflicted with cerebral palsy. Norton is flawless in his dual roles (remember his schizo debut in Primal Fear?), and better still, he plays Brian as funny and endearing without ever creeping into caricature-ville. Meanwhile, Nick is figuring out how to bypass the ironclad security system and crack the uncrackable safe. DeNiro doesn't have a lot to do with his character, but what he was given, he runs with. He not only makes you believe the clichés, you like them, dammit. Brando is clearly having fun with his role -- one tailor-made just for him. "I wrote the part specifically for Brando," said co-writer Kario Salem. "I imagined him as a cross between Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams -- someone of great flamboyance and humor and wit and someone of great size, both literally and figuratively." Brando nails it all the way. (Interesting aside: the roles of Nick and Jackie were originally slated for Michael Douglas and Ben Affleck.)

The twist ending is given away a bit too early (but then there's another twist), and there isn't anything here we haven't seen before. However, with three generations of the world's best actors on the screen, The Score scores big.

Excellent acting is the attraction in this low-key heist movie, which only gets into high gear in the last 30 minutes of the two hours, and features some nice twists. Otherwise, it's a bit talky with a few lulls.

However, I still found it interesting thanks to Edward Norton's superb acting. His character, "Jack Teller" was very intriguing. Robert De Niro, as "Nick Wells" also was good to watch. De Niro rarely is boring. The third major player here is the even-more famous Marlon Brando, who only is referred to as "Max." This certainly isn't one of his more appealing roles but then, how many did he play since the '60s anyway? He - like Norton and De Niro - always grabs your attention regardless of the role, too.

Set in Canada, there were great shots of Montreal in this film, and a sharp DVD picture to show off the city. For those looking for a lot of action, skip this, but for those who are more interested in great acting, check this movie out.

`The Score' is a fun, stylish return to the `Rififi,' `Topkapi' school of crime drama. The object of this particular heist is a 17th Century royal scepter from France that happens to be languishing in the basement of the Montreal customhouse just asking to be taken. One of the would-be takers is Nick Wells (Robert De Niro), a seasoned heister dreaming of the quiet life of retirement but compelled to do this one last job as a favor to Max (Marlon Brando), an old buddy in hock to some pretty dangerous mob figures. Completing the triangle is Jack Teller (Edward Norton), a brilliant but brash young criminal mastermind whose high-risk temperament is placed in direct counterpoint to Nick's cool, levelheaded demeanor.

Perhaps the most amazing triumph for director Frank Oz is his success at pulling together this impressive cast of stellar heavyweights who cut across three generations of movie acting. Of course, one might wish to see them in roles more demanding of their thespian talents, but we moviegoers will take these three superstars any way we can get them. And `The Score' is certainly very entertaining on its own terms. The technical elements involved in the planning of the heist are beautifully detailed from start to finish. And Oz generates genuinely nail-biting suspense in many sequences involving close quarters and close calls. In addition, the Montreal setting is novel and fresh and it is enhanced by some very impressive wide screen photography.

A film like `The Score' lives or dies based on the intricacy of its plotting and the expertise of its craft. In both cases, `The Score' excels as an outstanding example of this noble and time-honored genre. And watching these three acting giants doing their thing in a movie together is OUR well-earned reward.

A robber, Nick (Robert De Niro) wants to retire and marry his girlfriend (Angela Bassett). But a friend of his Max (Marlon Brando) convinces him to do one last job with young brash Jackie (Edward Norton). Naturally something goes wrong. Nothing new or inventive here but very well-done and engrossing. Also it's a pleasure to see three exceptional actors doing good work and enjoying themselves (especially Brando). Only complaint--Bassett (another great actor) is completely wasted. Worth catching. Also, it needs to be seen on a wide screen--director Frank Oz uses the whole screen inventively more than once.

A fairly good heist movie with 3 outstanding mega stars in Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando & Edward Norton. It really is the generation game with 3 different generations represented. De Niro & Norton are on top form and it's good to see them going back and forth. Marlon Brando is fine but it's clear to see he is being his usual awkward self as he spends most of the movie sitting down in large robes, it's obvious he was just doing his own thing with little effort or requirement. The biggest failure in the movie is Angela Bassett. It's hard to see why she took such a nothing role other than to work with the talent on show. Her character is reduced to 3 or 4 scenes with absolutely nothing to do. The ending is ok but seeing De Niro walk off into the sunset with Bassett doesn't feel earn as there has been hardly any development between the 2 characters to make us care. A solid heist movie which should have been a great one with the talent it had.