La grande arnaque

Based on an Elmore Leonard novel, Owen Wilson plays Jack Ryan, an affable surfer who gets pulled into a crime caper by Nancy (Sara Foster), the beautiful mistress of a wealthy developer in Oahu, Hawaii. Soon, he and a judge, played by Morgan Freeman, are plotting against the developer, but Jack finds that he got more than he bargained for with Nancy.

I have never read the novel so I can't compare the movie to the book but I doubt the book is this bad. If Elmore Leonard doesn't like it then it's probably a disgrace to the book. The story itself isn't very fresh or new though the film does have an impressive cast. Unfortunately, the cast did little to help this very poor film. It ended up being a big waste of time and talent. The movie is just very dull and stupid. There really isn't a very clear idea of what type of genre this movie is supposed to be in. It wasn't a comedy because it wasn't funny at all. It wasn't a thriller because it offered no surprises. It was a crime caper except it wasn't very exciting and it offered no intrigue at all.

The acting is surprisingly flat and dull. Most of the actors seem to be more interested in a paycheck than anything else. This is Owen Wilson's worst film to date and it's also his worst performance. He just didn't seem to be trying at all. Gary Sinise wasn't used much which is a good thing because his performance was pretty mundane. Charlie Sheen tried way too hard to be funny and he ended up just being annoying. Morgan Freeman just gave a dull performance and Sara Foster was pretty weak but she is beautiful.

I blame director George Armitage for this garbage. He had the right actors and the right story, he just couldn't keep a good focus on it. There were a bunch of ideas going all over the place and the film was just so messy. He doesn't keep the audience guessing because they most likely won't care. He doesn't keep the audience entertained because there are very few engaging scenes. He really has nothing important to say either and The Big Bounce is just a very unnecessary movie. In the end, The Big Bounce is simply not worth watching. Rating 3/10

Greetings again from the darkness. What a total waste of a cool cast. Having never read Elmore Leonard's novel, I can't say whether the movie butchered the book or not. I can say that this is an extremely unfunny, poorly made movie with a ridiculous story that had me flashing back to those Elvis in Hawaii movies ... only without the charm and music! Director George Armitage ("Miami Blues", "Grosse Point Blank") either hated the story or called in sick everyday. Supermodel Sara Foster lacks the acting chops for her vital role in this triple-crossing fiasco. Talented screen veterans Morgan Freeman and Gary Sinise are totally wasted in this and comics Owen Wilson, Bebe Neuwirth and Charlie Sheen require some funny material to work their magic. Have I mentioned that the script was awful? Everytime I got my hopes up, I was left feeling empty. The domino game with Freeman, Wilson, Willie Nelson and Harry Dean Stanton could have been a classic scene, but instead fell flat. Even an early scene with football heroes Tony Dorsett, Mike Renfro and Pete Johnson goes nowhere because they are just treated as window dressing. When a movie wastes Vinnie Jones ("Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels") we know it has nothing going for it. The scenes of Hawaii and the beautiful shoreline and water are the only good things to be taken from this.

Whether it was intended to be viewed this way or not, this movie was exactly that, a movie(which are supposed to be fun). It didn't make you think too hard(or at all), It had a beautiful cast in a beautiful location, a great soundtrack, and a quirky fun story. Sometimes these type of movies are just what the doctor ordered. So what that it has no deep and meaningful theme, or that there are spots in the movie that make absolutely no sense!!!! It suffered severely in the box office due to very poor marketing prior to its release as well as a nation full of people suffering from groupthink, and the critics are the ones pulling the strings. I found the movie extremely refreshing, a nice break from deep thought, and i chance where i could just sit down, fix my eyes on the TV, and smile :D

Don't be fooled by everyone's comments on how horrible or how boring this movie is. Sure, if you are looking for an Academy Award-winning drama, you won't get what you wanting to see. I mean look at the star role! ITS OWEN Wilson. Some of his more recent films include Starsky and Hutch, Shanghai Knights, Royal Tenebaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Shanghai Noon, I mean COME ON. As soon as I saw he was in it I knew it was a comedy, and I was expecting a not-so-great storyline and some "controversial" things being said. If you want to see a comedy, then see this movie.

I, went, expecting a comedy, got one, and I give it a 8 out of 10.

Considering the cast and the fact that it was an Elmore Leonard adaptation, I wanted to see this flick. However, it was disappointing. The film (though very small) moved at an extremely lethargic pace with hardly anything happening (except in the last 5 minutes or something). I haven't read Leonard's book so I can't comment on how fair it was to the script. There isn't much of a story as pretty much nothing happens in more than half the movie. The non-compelling ending is very badly written and we are left to figure out the plot holes. Why just the ending, the whole film is boring. The dialogues are, now I don't use this word often but, lame. A few funny moments include the breaking in the cops house, the fight between Sheen and Wilson while the girl watches.

Sadly, the cast has been wasted. Wilson and Foster have no chemistry. Being a talented actor, Wilson deserves a better movie. Poor Morgan Freeman hardly has anything to do except utter a few wise (not really) words. Sheen and Sinise have insignificant roles. Newarth springs a surprise but is hardly there. Foster is alright.

On the flip side, the cinematography gives us a wonderful tour through exotic Hawaii. It makes me want to go there and at times, I thought maybe the director and cast just happened to be there on holiday and decided to make a film. The soundtracks quite okay too. Thankfully it's a short film too so one not need to suffer too much. Even to fans of the cast and Leonard, this will be a disappointment.