A Better Way to Die

I was pleasantly surprised with this flick, as it looked like a typical and un-original action film whereas it turned out to be fairly original and extremely entertaining. The central character is called "Boomer" and is played by Scott Wiper who is a very talented actor, director and writer and it seemed as though he put a lot of thought and effort into this movie, which really pays off. The opening scene is one of the best i've seen for a long time and is obviously influenced by the 'Quentin Tarantino' style of writing and film-making...which of course is a good thing. I was also surprised at the strength of the cast, which includes such hollywood names as Lou Diamond Phillips, Joe Pantoliano, Natasha Henstridge and Andre Braugher.

The highlight of this film has to be Andre Braugher's character 'Cleveland'. Cleveland is a fairly complex character and quite humerous, he's an assassin with a good heart and really makes the film much more entertaining (as do most of the characters). However, I was quite disappointed with some of this film as the big names such as Natasha Henstridge and Joe Pantoliano hardly get any screen time and I was very disappointed as I thought these actors/actresses would be significant characters, which they weren't. All in all 'A Better Way To Die" is an extremely entertaining action flick which takes you on a roller-coaster ride of action and surprises.

When the movie started i thought that its gonna be just another one of those stupid ones where the most important thing is a car blowing up. That would be my guess but as the story developed after 15 minutes, the movie got better. A variety of good characters made it even better and a touch of humor even more. But this does not mean that things wont be blowing up. The story is also developing pretty good and it takes unexpected turns as the good guy turn bad and the bad ones turn good. The whole concept of a dude being in the wrong place at the wrong time is good and till the end you'll just be waiting for it to hit you with another new situation that you haven't seen before, nor later.

Nothing particularly unique about this movie, but it held my attention all the way through. Solid acting, direction, reasonably interesting story, good cast of characters; about the only complaint I would make is that I always felt like I was missing something. That's not specific enough to be of much use, I suppose, but it's as close as I can get to verbalizing my complaint. I give this one 6/10; watch it if you don't have anything else to do.

I can see how this film could be tossed into the Violent Action or confusingly written low budget categories, but I found it to be a cut or more above those types of films because of its feel. It seemed to me more like a long waking nightmare than an action yarn. It was personal. Where Dirty Harry or Arnold type films tend to try to inject societal relevance, this is about what is happening to one lone guy's little world. It seems to start the usual way in the big city, but the road trip begins immediately after the cops vs bad guy shootout. Then it is just him against the darker side of the world.

Odd to say it, but it had elements in it of a gentle, thoughtful road film like Wild Strawberries. But these gentle experiences were incessantly subverted by the nightmarish downward spiral that was this day or so in the life of the antihero lead. Dr. Borg could not find an experience or place that could distract him for long from his regrets. Boomer's problems were less existential. He could not find a safe place, even to sleep. One thing led to another and every time it couldn't get worse it did. Sustaining that through the length of the film in writing and directing is quite an accomplishment and it all goes to Wiper. The other actors did a sturdy to inspired job of playing it on the money and not ruining the vibe.

I think of it as a Film Noir and it reminds me of an Edmond O'Brien character running afoul of Communist spies and their thugs. Constantly on the run, both to and from, never knowing what is around the next corner.

Without giving anything away, the other element running through the film is an amazing tale of, ultimately, redemption involving Boomer and Cleveland. It is of course given the necessary weight by the usual brilliant performance by Andre Braugher.

Much of the film had a claustrophobic quality to it, another departure from a typical action film. I don't say this often, but being in black and white would have taken as much away from this film as it would have added. It is pretty darn good the way it is. And it does not remind me very much of any other film I have ever seen. It is coming from another place entirely.

As a serious crime drama, this totally sucks. But if viewed as a spoof on the genre, it's quite amusing. Every cliche is squeezed into the plot; much of the action is over-the-top. If they were trying for a hard-core, gritty flick to be taken seriously, they flopped. But if seen as a less-slapstick variation on films like Clive Owens' underappreciated Shoot'Em Up, it plays a lot better.