A big bag of money falling into your lap is the kind of fantasy movies have played with for quite some time because it's easy to identify with. 'Route 9' is another crack at the worn tale with a decent cast, but you have to endure a predictable story and the stock elements - greed, lust, paranoia, betrayal - usually found here. That's where the recognizable faces come in to at least partially salvage the situation.
Deputies Booth (Kyle MacLachlan) & Earl (Wade Williams) stumble onto a drug buy gone bad in the backwaters of Nevada and decide to keep the 1.5 mil and split it. However one of the dead goons turns out to be undercover DEA which brings Agent Marks (Roma Maffia) to town to piece together what happened. Booth not only has to hold his partner in check, but keep his affair with Sally (Amy Locane) the wife of Sheriff Hogan (Peter Coyote) a secret and local doc Jesse (Miguel Sandoval) becomes another hurdle when he stumbles onto what's going on.
MacLachlan comes off likable even with missteps because he represents the viewers perspective on things. Williams a bit away from his ironic role in "Prison Break' still shows his power playing guys an equal mix of stupid, greedy & conniving. Locane, Coyote aren't given much to do other than present a one note secondary plot. Honestly this part could have been cut entirely, but Maffia and Sandoval bring some pedigree to the flick and provide the few surprises here.
'Money For Nothing', 'A Simple Plan' and 'Shallow Grave' are the most immediate examples that pop into my head that also use this path. The point is the concept always goes disastrously wrong and 'Route 9' is no different. This tale starts out being more than serviceable and upon a second viewing I was still pretty game for what it had to offer. Weak writing in the last third & a rushed ending see it take a steady plunge into routine territory though.
Deputies Booth (Kyle MacLachlan) & Earl (Wade Williams) stumble onto a drug buy gone bad in the backwaters of Nevada and decide to keep the 1.5 mil and split it. However one of the dead goons turns out to be undercover DEA which brings Agent Marks (Roma Maffia) to town to piece together what happened. Booth not only has to hold his partner in check, but keep his affair with Sally (Amy Locane) the wife of Sheriff Hogan (Peter Coyote) a secret and local doc Jesse (Miguel Sandoval) becomes another hurdle when he stumbles onto what's going on.
MacLachlan comes off likable even with missteps because he represents the viewers perspective on things. Williams a bit away from his ironic role in "Prison Break' still shows his power playing guys an equal mix of stupid, greedy & conniving. Locane, Coyote aren't given much to do other than present a one note secondary plot. Honestly this part could have been cut entirely, but Maffia and Sandoval bring some pedigree to the flick and provide the few surprises here.
'Money For Nothing', 'A Simple Plan' and 'Shallow Grave' are the most immediate examples that pop into my head that also use this path. The point is the concept always goes disastrously wrong and 'Route 9' is no different. This tale starts out being more than serviceable and upon a second viewing I was still pretty game for what it had to offer. Weak writing in the last third & a rushed ending see it take a steady plunge into routine territory though.