City of Crime

Keitel runs, walks, staggers, stumbles, and crawls through "City of Industry" to settle a score with fellow thief Dorff in this surprisingly entertaining but gritty and violent action/drama from the same mold as "Reservoir Dogs". Janssen plays a babe (what else?) caught up in the vendetta filmed in just about every seedy part of Los Angeles. Good stuff for crime buffs and Keitel fans into violent gangster-type flicks.

This is a studio character with tones of suspense about some two-fisted criminals in L.A city . An old thief named Roy Egan (Harvey Keitel) , is drawn into the final jewel heist to Russian Mafia when his youngest brother named Lee (Timothy Hutton) asks him for a last score before they get out of the game . Lee forms a motley group (Keitel , Wade Dominguez and Stephen Dorff) to carry out the violent robbing . Unfortunately for him , Lee's picked one wrong partner and the events get worse . One of them decides he doesn't want to share the goods and betrays the group and happens murders and wreak havoc .The retired thief swears revenge on the lunatic who murdered his partners, while going on the run with the loot they stole.

This modern adaptation of noir cinema contains thrills , intrigue, explosive scenes of action and over-riding feeling of heat . Interesting premise in which takes places a moving cat-and-mouse hunt through the seedier sides of L.A . Exciting and stirring finale full of shootouts , violence and fights into a factory . Good performances from all-star cast as Harvey Keitel as an old pro robber who has vowed to avenge his brother , Stephen Dorff as a volatile , violent wheelman and Famke Janssen as a suffering wife . Nice musical score including an emotive song at the beginning . Colorful cinematography by Thomas Burstyn who permeates the whole movie even in the hours of night and darkness .

The motion picture is professionally directed by John Irvin with a well-achieved realization and elaborate scenes , though doesn't always live up to its promise . He worked extensively in TV before making his film debut with ¨The dogs of war¨ a cool rendition of a best-seller by Frederick Forsyth dealing with mercenaries in Africa. He went on directing ¨Ghost story¨ starred by old Hollywood-all-star and ¨Champions¨ about a courageous recovery from cancer stricken a steeple-chase jockey . After that , he realized a fine Vietnam movie as ¨The Hamburger Hill¨, ¨Turtle diary¨, an Arnold Szwenegger vehicle as ¨Raw Deal¨ and a good and realistic TV ¨Robin Hood¨. Finally , he made underrated films that not had the same inspiration since them as ¨Next of kin¨ , ¨Eminent domain¨ , ¨Freefall¨ and a sparkling comedy ,¨Widows peak¨ and is also of note a wartime genre as ¨When trumpets fade¨(1998). And of course , ¨City of Industry¨ , being one of the jewels in Irvin's crown , it results to be one of this most interesting works and an efficient contemporary Noir which had moderated success .

Good atmosphere, but ultimately empty. I love Keitel's work and was prepared to enjoy this movie. I did, for about the first half of the movie. Then came the jarring errors in continuity, like Keitel climbing out of a lake in the dark, breathing heavily, after being chased there in daylight. And the clumsy look-he-dropped-the-motel-key scene (how did Keitel get back into his room after that?). I'm still wondering about the black and Chinese gangs, and what they had to do with anything else in the movie. All in all, I kept waiting for the dynamic climax that would explain why the movie was made, but it never happened. Recommended for fans of good L.A. photography, and for fans of mindless violence (I expected a lot of things from this movie, but "mindless" wasn't one of them).

Sure, you can find some plots holes in this film big enough to drive a semi through, but that just keeps it from gathering awards, not from being worth a view.

If you like revenge flicks, and noir, and lots of action, as well as a look at Lucy's Little Lius as she does a pole dance, then you might find this film interesting.

What makes it most interesting, however, is the presence of Harvey Keitel. Having him hunting you down is a real bummer. He manages to get shot and almost beat to a pulp by the Chinese, and still keeps on ticking like a Timex. Maybe he just dreamed of being on the beach in Port Arthur with Famke Janssen (of X-Men fame). It could have happened! Check it out to see who wins and loses and enjoy the ride because it is worth it.

I would describe Harvey Keitel's performance in this violent thriller as exceptional, except that he turns in such remarkable performances time after time. He plays Roy Egan, a veteran con helping his kid brother, Lee (Timothy Hutton), and two other desperados, pull a big jewel job in Palm Springs. The job goes well, but then one of the gang gets murderously greedy, and Roy goes into LA, after him and the loot.

The other element which lifts the movie from competent to first rate are the downtown and industrial locations. For once we see an LA not made up exclusively of lush areas like Beverly Hills on the one hand, and no-go ghettos like South Central on the other. At the same time, writer Ken Solarz and director John Irvin make good use of LA's ethnic mix, with both Chinese and Black gangs playing a part as Roy hunts his man. Hutton, Stephen Dorff, Wade Dominguez and Famke Janssen contribute solid performances, and Lucy Liu is also to be seen. The movie may descend into too much mayhem for some; and the sunny epilogue seems out of place; but this is a must-see for thriller-lovers.