Fifty/Fifty

This is one of those movies that grows on you. I watched it when it first came to video and thought Ho-Hum. Then a few years later it was not too bad...till now I enjoy renting it about every 6 months just as a beer and pretzels, watch with my buddies kinda movie.

The action is very good. Not a whole lot of the explosions throwing undamaged bodies into 10 ft somersaults. Unlike other action flicks of this time, the heroes were pretty shot up by movies end.

The whole rebellion idea was fairly well planned out, both times. People you expect to make it (the girl) don't. Even the CIA guys is actually pretty cool at the end.

Watch it for entertainment, not for philosophy.

I agree that this movie IS a some kind of parody on action flicks. The heroes gunned down numerous troops without any difficulties, yet they always throw out jokes, as if they were not serious doing that. Unfortetunately, IF this was meant to be a parody, it's not funny enough. In the end, it has become a usual heroic-flick where you can blast a whole army, common in the 80s and early 90s.

I've never seen Robert Hays in any real 'tough-guys' movie. From the first I saw his name on credit, I was practically sure...that this is not "Commando" or somethin' like that.

By the way, I have to straighten some things up here. The movie takes place in a fictional SOUTH EAST ASIAN country, not South America or else. In fact, "Tenggara" (or Tengara, as the movie put it) means "South East" in Malay and Indonesian. The soldiers and the natives spoke Malay all through the movie, and the movie was shot in Malaysia. Yeah, I knew it's a relatively forgotten part in the (Hollywood) world (except now there's a movie called "Entrapment"). In real life, there are only three countries using Malay (and its variation, Indonesian) as official language: Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Darussalaam.

Anyway, worth watching though...if you like some mild jokes. For the rest, don't think.

Or as a viewer put it: leave your brain.

Charles Martin Smith who is not the most critically acclaimed director has made some pretty good movies in his time although not many people seem to know about them. However, this did not stop me from finding the movie Fifty/Fifty. I stumbled onto this little token because I was searching for films Peter Weller had starred in. Boy was I glad this film caught my attention with its excellent trailer. I usually do not laugh during trailers but this one was a rare gem.

Fifty/Fifty was released by Cannon Films who seemed to me like a well- known cinema company; I guess not. This film wasn't even theatrically released. But that makes it all the better. Peter Weller and Robert Hays star as two CIA operatives who are given an assignment to overthrow a ruthless dictator. Although both are from two different genres, both of them work really well together. I say this because their wisecracks seemed so natural like they didn't read the script. I'll admit that I did not have one favorite scene in this movie, because almost every scene was too good to pick a favorite. Even director Charles Martin Smith has a role in this story and he does his part well too.

The action is good in this movie too. There are plenty of shootings, explosions and there is some blood but not a lot of gore. The MPAA rating for this movie is rated R mostly for the language. I enjoyed Smith's direction on how he had Weller and Hays act during trouble. Even near death scenes, they never let go of their wit and funny comments.

Making this movie even more rare of a find is the score composed by Peter Bernstein, son of famous composer Elmer Bernstein. It's a little distressing to me because I enjoy many soundtracks to movies and I love collecting them and Bernstein's score is unobtainable. The score is fun to listen to because of its cheery mood and the way it gets fed into whatever scene is currently happening. I enjoyed this film a lot and wished that it was released theatrically. Director Charles Martin Smith outdid himself with this movie and its unfortunate not many people know of this funny action movie.

For some, it would seem like Robert Hays and Peter Weller are not the best duo in action comedy when in fact they deliver goods extremely well. With funny lines, a good soundtrack, and loud action, Fifty/Fifty will please any hardcore action comedy fan.

So, you are with a group of mates(pals, friends, buddies) and you are renting a video. If your group is mostly men then I recommend fifty/fifty. It has all the elements that you would expect from an action/adventure/ comedy. One liners, 'n' all that. But this film is most definitely unique.

If you know films well and you also know a few flashy words and concepts to go with them then you will recognise it as a film that breaks a few of the genres' conventions. If not, well you can use that as an excuse to your girlfriend who says that you watch films with no taste. A right royal Buddy humour filled picture. In other words you will laugh your lungs dry!

well..this is the only movie from Hollywood which shot the film in Malaysia. THis is the only movie which has plenty of actors from Malaysia whom i known, and they're are fantastic! "Os" is one of the actors who shows great courage in a Hollywood movie, followed with the girl, Azmil and Shaharudin Tamby. I'm glad that i Watched this movie although there are only 252 votes, and only get a 5.0 out of 10 stars.

The best part of this movie is where the final scene was shot in my own country, in "Padang Kota Lama" and it seems to be a great action movies! This is one the place where it happens to be a great "tsunami" which cause death to the people in Penang in 2005. Oh well, let's not talk about tsunami, let's talk about movie. This is a well done movie with great action scene and superb acting. Deserve to obtained more stars which i think it should be above 6 stars.

By the way, give this movie a chance, watch it!! (10/10)