Pecados do Passado

Sin takes an average revenge story, adds in rape and pornographers, and ultimately turns into an average revenge story. At the very least, the plot thickens near the end of the movie when we realize that the bad guy (who is a really bad guy and the movie absolutely will leave no questions about that) turns out to have a reason for his actions throughout the movie beyond just being a really bad guy. It is odd, however, that a movie can take such talented actors as Ving Rhames and, especially, Gary Oldman and turn their performances into run-of-the-mill action clichés.

Rhames utters the phrase 'she's my sister' so many times in the movie that by the end the movie has turned the phrase into a cliché all by itself. You messin' with my family you messin' with me, and so forth. I think that most of the reason that so many people hated this movie was because it raises your expectations because of the people involved but did nothing new within its genre. It's a standard revenge movie with standard plot points and turns and even the standard plot thickening in the third act.

Where the movie does not wallow in clichés, however, is in some of the characterizations. No one is as good or bad as they initially seem to be in this movie. The evil was heaped onto Charlie Strom, Gary Oldman's character, so heavily in the first half of the movie that it's difficult for him to escape from underneath the mountain of badness that he is under even when we see the reasons for his actions, but the good guys in particular, are not as good as they seem. Eddie Burns (Ving Rhames) lost the use of his left arm in the line of duty, but also played a role in the death of an innocent man that could really amount to murder. Bella, played by Alicia Coppola, is someone that we want to root for but may hesitate because of the, ah, sinful nature of her occupation.

There is, however, a lot of forgiveness in the movie, and I respect that. At one point, Eddie discusses some of the finer points in life with Strom over cups of coffee, despite their mutual desires to kill one another. Later in the movie, Eddie is attempting to save Strom from a pool of quicksand in the middle of the Nevada desert. I didn't know there was quicksand in the middle of the Nevada desert, but no matter. The movie's not about where there is quicksand or how fast you can get from large freeways in the middle of Las Vegas to open desert without even any discernible roads, the movie's about you messin' with my family you messin' with me. And who better than Ving Rhames to return the messy favor?

Rhames could take these people out with an arm tied behind his back.

This was worst film I have ever had the misfortune to sit through. It was painful to watch, the only thing that kept me watching this dreadful film was that it was so bad I felt I had a responsibility to warn the rest of the world not to waste a couple of hours of their lives watching it.

There was no plot to speak of and any hints of a plot were so obvious that you work them out at least half an hour in advance. Every word in this film is a part of a line or a speech, there is no 'normal everyday talking' the script is rubbish! The direction was confusing in its absence and the editing seems to have been done ten minutes before the premier.

Do not be fooled by the cast as they were also somehow fooled by the script.

Worthy of the IMDb bottom 100, and in my opinion should be #1.

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Retired detective Eddie Burns (Ving Rhames) is called back in to action when his young sister Kassie (Kerry Washington) is abducted by a sinister criminal named Charlie Strom (Gary Oldman).She's found fairly swiftly though,returned in one piece despite having been subjected to an horrific rape ordeal.As Burns sets out to seek justice for his sister,it emerges Strom is as eager to set up a meeting with Burns as he is with him,as he has some business of his own with the detective,in the shape of an unsettled score.

As I watched this dismal feature plod on,I was woken up to a fact I've chosen to overlook for a while now:Rhames really ain't that great an actor.In some of his other,more bearable features (in which he co-stars) his problems with delivery and tone are something I don't tend to notice,but when he's carrying the film,he ends up coming out in his true colours.As for Oldman,it's really a case of how the mighty have fallen,his once commanding presence in films of real vitality and inspiration now reduced to corny,hackneyed psycho turns such as his co starring role here.The plot is an uneven,patchy mess that dabbles in overtures of the ridiculous that by the time the laughably silly,clumsily self conscious ending has rolled by,have (ahem!) swallowed the film whole.*

I watched this movie for two reasons; The amazing Gary Oldman and for the music by Michael Giacchino of whom I'm a fan ever since his "Medal of Honor" scores. The movie was not completely a waste of time but it also was far from good.

Man to blame is I think director Michael Stevens, you can tell by looking at this movie that he is just too unexperienced. There are some well executed sequences but there are way more scene's that are just poorly done also due to some weird and dumb camera positions and some poor editing. Michael Stevens tries to impress the viewer with some shots of nature, it only works distracting and doesn't do much good to the pace. Maybe he should consider a career as documentary maker?

The story is also quite a problem. It takes a while before you understand what the movie is all about. Once you pick up the story the movie is actually not bad, it's just that it has been done about a hundred times before.

Ving Rhames tries but he just ain't no good leading actor, I liked his costume but that's about all the positive I can say. Gary Oldman is in his element as psychopathic villain. He played a lot of roles like this before but in his case you just never get tired of it. Brian Cox is also excellent in a small supporting role. And keep an eye on Arie Verveen, I expect great things for him in the future.

If you can ignore the bad dialog, story, plot-holes and directing you'll see that there is some good in this movie and that it is a watchable one that is fairly entertaining as an action movie but not a must see in any way.

5/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Gary olman is a great actor...most of the time.and in spite of this movie he is still good.

So was Ving Rhames..but his lines are even worse.

This is not a bad movie,but with the caliber of actors in it I expected so much more.It almost delivered...but kept stumbling..some of the dialog is very clumsy and awkward.Continuity did not seem to be a concern here either.

This is basically a spaghetti western cop movie,starts pretty good and grabs you...then lets you go...what a shame.

Still it is worth renting if you like this style of movie.