Poor Barry Pepper. I can't help but think that he thought his role in this film would be his Big Break, or at least a chance to do some real, "meaty" ACTING, but the story, dialog and direction let him down. (On the other hand, it's a major step-up in quality from "Battlefield Earth", which sucked major hind-tit through no fault of Pepper's).
There are some interesting story elements here, and some well-done individual moments. Diesel's little set-piece speech about '500' actually works if you just relax and go with it; not a lot of actors could get away with it, and he does. The actor who plays the corrupt sheriff is really pretty good - in fact, he is so good it's easy to overlook how well he fleshes out his character. Seth Green would not be my choice for any 'serious' gangster film, (he's a great actor, but he isn't physically menacing or imposing in any way) but since he is cast as the screwball/'weak sister' of the group, he works fine, and his character is given a moment of dignity and courage near the very end. A lot of people are making fun of John Malkovich in this role, but I think it all depends on whether you are a member of his cult of admirers. If you think of him as the Meyer Lansky of the film (to Dennis Hopper's Bugsy Siegel) he's perfectly valid as a seemingly effete but treacherous and cold blooded killer.
However, in spite of some good performances and some good story elements, this seems to be a case where the movie is less than the sum of its parts. I'm not sure where the air leaks out of the balloon on this project, but it simply misses the mark.
But I'm not sorry I saw it, and when I saw a used DVD of it for $10, I got it for my collection. I'll probably watch it again in a year or two, along with "Red Planet" and "Alien Resurrection", two other films that had good moments but are in no sense classics.
I'd give this one 6 and 1/2 out of ten. Competent,professional work, with enough merit to fill a slow night of couch-potato movie watching with your girlfriend or wife.
There are some interesting story elements here, and some well-done individual moments. Diesel's little set-piece speech about '500' actually works if you just relax and go with it; not a lot of actors could get away with it, and he does. The actor who plays the corrupt sheriff is really pretty good - in fact, he is so good it's easy to overlook how well he fleshes out his character. Seth Green would not be my choice for any 'serious' gangster film, (he's a great actor, but he isn't physically menacing or imposing in any way) but since he is cast as the screwball/'weak sister' of the group, he works fine, and his character is given a moment of dignity and courage near the very end. A lot of people are making fun of John Malkovich in this role, but I think it all depends on whether you are a member of his cult of admirers. If you think of him as the Meyer Lansky of the film (to Dennis Hopper's Bugsy Siegel) he's perfectly valid as a seemingly effete but treacherous and cold blooded killer.
However, in spite of some good performances and some good story elements, this seems to be a case where the movie is less than the sum of its parts. I'm not sure where the air leaks out of the balloon on this project, but it simply misses the mark.
But I'm not sorry I saw it, and when I saw a used DVD of it for $10, I got it for my collection. I'll probably watch it again in a year or two, along with "Red Planet" and "Alien Resurrection", two other films that had good moments but are in no sense classics.
I'd give this one 6 and 1/2 out of ten. Competent,professional work, with enough merit to fill a slow night of couch-potato movie watching with your girlfriend or wife.