Crimes na Madrugada

You may go sleepless while watching this abduction thriller with a couple of stars, Jamie Foxx and Michelle Monaghan. They're Las Vegas PD detectives involved in drug busting with all the kidnap, corruption components in place.

The outstanding element is the awareness that an Oscar winner--Foxx--can be wasted in a hum-drum actioner that surprises not at all. Believe me when I tell you that if you stirred Liam Neeson in with this script, you'd know the difference only by the skin color of the kidnapped children.

Although director Odar does a competent job with the foot races and car chases, they are still boiler-plate staples of the genre. While Foxx spends most of the film improbably finding his son, losing him, finding him again in an almost Groundhog Day motif, the action becomes tedious quickly. His life-threatening-wound is ludicrously not debilitating except for a few high-priced Oscar grunts that end up immobilizing a goon or two who have no similar disabilities.

It was a dismal afternoon when I saw Sleepless because I love cinematic visuals and watching Michelle make something out of nothing. Otherwise, you'll be more careful about the safety of your children. That's the good part.

Based on the coming attractions, I wasn't expecting much, and I got even less. This is another good cop/bad cop, is he or isn't he, kind of flick, set in Las Vegas with lots of glitz and glamour to hide what is a very shaky plot. If the glitz and glamour aren't enough to dazzle you, the music tracks will deafen you, and your visual delights will be satisfied with death by knife, death by pistol, death by automatic weapon, death by shotgun, death by truck, death by wine bottle - just to name a few.

The acting is pretty good, all things considered, but the direction is appalling and the action-every-minute film has low spots.

Generally I like films about internal affairs. "Internal Affairs" (1990), "The Departed" (2006) and "Q&A" (1990) are my favorites.

I watch movies to be entertained, Sleepless definitely did that. While not at the top of its class when it comes to crime action/drama, it had a lot going for it in my opinion. The fight scenes were well done, the scenery was dark but was still able to show off the glitz and glamour that Vegas is known for, and the story-line wasn't half bad. I was expecting to see a bit of Collateral in this, and I feel like that's what I got only with a bit more action and less Tom Cruise.

Don't go in thinking you're going to be seeing some Oscar worthy film, that isn't what this is. If you are expecting to watch a good crime action flick with Jamie Fox kicking ass then you will be happy with what you see.

I think the other reviews forgot to mention the great cinematography, lighting in the scenes and suspensful sound/music, and for the most part good acting, that lifts this action packed thriller story from average and gives it a nice dark edge and some bite. Turn down the lights and turn up the sound and get ready for action.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 came up with the oft used quote that "there is nothing new under the sun". "Sleepless" proves that in spades.

• Bent copper drama? Check.

• Dodgy casino owner? Check.

• Nasty "Black Rain" style hoodlum? Check.

• Kidnapped teen ("I WILL find you")? Check.

• Misunderstood family man? Check.

All of these standard tropes are lobbed into the movie blender and pulsed well.

Holding it all together are solid performances from Jamie Foxx ("Django Unchained") as Vincent Downs, the cop with a dodgy background, and Michelle Monaghan ("Source Code", "Patriot's Day") as the internal affairs cop doggedly on his trail.

In terms of the storyline it's best to go into the film (as I did) with limited knowledge of the plot (on which more below). As the film opens, and playing out a strong anti-hero role, Downs with his equally dodgy partner are involved in a shootout at a drug deal in the streets of Las Vegas. This allows them to get their hands on a significant quantity of heroine. Naturally they pocket this, but unbeknownst to them the deal was between casino boss Rubino (Dermot Mulrooney, "The Grey") and the vicious mafia son of the local Novak family, Rob (Scoot McNairy, "Argo"). For Downs the pressure is on when his teenage son Thomas ( Octavius J. Johnson) is kidnapped as a trade for the drugs.

The film delivers some good fight scenes and action, but nothing we haven't seen before in countless other movies like Bourne. What drags the film down though through is the scripting and direction. There are such a range of implausibilities on show here that it makes you wonder why anyone involved in the film didn't just stop and say "WAIT A MINUTE HERE GUYS" and demand a rewrite.

For example, Foxx suffers a severe knife wound early in the film, but repeatedly bounces from 'full action hero fighting machine' mode to 'staggering and holding his side' mode without pause. The wound adds nothing but implausibility to the action, so why include it at all??

And a scene in an underground car park involving copious quantities of tear gas brought tears of embarrassment to my eyes: an affliction that didn't seem to affect any of the protagonists in the film!

This is a great shame, and writer Andrea Berloff ("Straight Outta Compton") and Swiss-born director Baran bo Odar should have more respect for their audience's intelligence (that's the third movie in recent weeks I've made that comment on... it must be the time of year!).

It's also extremely irritating that one of the key twists in the movie (although you may guess it) is so blatantly spoiled: both by an audio line in the trailer (at 1:40) and – more appallingly – by one of the two straplines for the film on the posters. Thankfully I never noticed this before I saw the film.

Fox and Monaghan are too good for the material but have screen chemistry that keeps the film watchable. I also thought Scoot McNairy was great as the cold-eyed crazy hoodlum and it's also interesting to see Dermot Mulrooney, so memorable as the male lead in 1997's "My Best Friend's Wedding", back in a mainstream role.

By the way, I have no idea why the film is called "Sleepless", other than it being based on a 2011 French film called "Nuit Blanche" which was perhaps written in a way where it made more sense. Vincent is no Jack Bauer and he gets more than a small opportunity to catnap during the running time!

In summary, the movie is perfectly watchable for its action moments. In fact, as I *think* my wife, who is a great fan of "Die Hard, "Taken", et al would like it I've added a star to my initial rating. And it's done with some style such that it has the *potential* to be a good film – – which is frustrating. But in my view it's not worth the ticket price at the cinema: wait instead for it to arrive on Amazon/Netflix.

The end of the film suggests a set-up for a sequel. I doubt this is a sequel that will ever get made.

(For the graphical version of this review, please visit bob-the-movie- man.com. Thanks).