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movies where you expect to find Bruce Willis playing Bruce Willis in whichever scenario his “character” happens to be in. Then there are movies (The Sixth Sense, Nobody’s Fool, 12 Monkeys), where Bruce Willis slips seamlessly into a character and becomes that person in those scenarios. I was hoping for the latter, and the first few minutes brought with them hope, but as the movie passed, I was delivered the former. That’s ok with me, I’m always happy to watch Bruce Willis, but for those of you who don’t like him, you won’t be finding anything new. Willis straps on a gut pack, downs his share of straight booze, and sweats and limps his way through the movie; just the unexpected hero audiences expect from him.
Mos Def (Hitchhiker’s Guide…, Italian Job) was, at first, annoying, due to his nasally accent and non-stop talking, but I realized that was the point of Eddie Bunker; he grew on me as the movie progressed. I enjoyed his performance and he is a charismatic young actor. David Morse (The Rock, The Negotiator, The Green Mile), seen playing stalwart men of honor in past films, gets his chance to sleaze his image a bit (i.e. goatee), while still playing an upstanding police detective. He plays a good foil and matches Willis nicely in standoffs. There relationship as ex-partners isn’t as developed as I had hoped, but the two actors bring enough to keep it growing.
Director Richard Donner, 76 years young, does a fine job handling the movie as a whole. It is a strong effort, not great, but strong and taut. It is definitely on par with Lethal Weapon 2 and 3 and Conspiracy Theory, but it is a step below Superman and the first Lethal Weapon. As to say: good, not great. He has interesting setups and shot selections which bring the action into a realm of reality not seen much in today’s cinema, contradicting worthless action movies by McG and other commercial directors. Richard Donner is a veteran of more than 40 years, and he brings his expertise to this movie in a way he hasn’t done of late.
An overall enjoyable experience, which can wait for rental, but if you enjoy Willis, or can suspend your disbelief further than I can, then it’s worth seeing on the big screen for $10.
Movie Grade: B-
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