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I don't know if anybody has started a topic on this movie yet, but I saw it last night and want to review it.
I'm sorry to say this movie was a big disappointment for me. I'd never actually heard of this movie, but I saw it once on the list of someone's favorite movies (not someone here), and it was a person who shared almost the exact same taste in movies as me. I also read some reviews at Epinions.com and heard that it was an indie cult classic, better than the usual Hollywood fare. So you can see why my hopes were up before seeing it.
It turned out to have an okay story but it wasn't believable at all. It's about a hit man who goes to his High School class reunion and meets some old friends, including the girl he stood up on Prom Night. Interspersed with this plot are various subplots. For instance, we see him on jobs killing people, we see him corresponding with other hit men, and we see government agents (NSA) planning to assasinate him. What exactly is the point?
The actors could not carry the film. First of all, the Cusacks were in it, and I was never a big fan of them. John Cusack is alright, but he isn't believable as a ruthless hit man at all. Joan Cusack, on the other hand, is IMO the most annoying actress in the industry (she really hams it up here). I can't STAND her. We also have Dan Aykroyd, in his worst performance yet (that I've seen anyway), and Minnie Driver, who suprisingly gives a better performance than the subpar one she gave in Good Will Hunting.
On other notes, the soundtrack just plain sucks, and the dialogue is literally cringe-inducing. It isn't helped by the fact that there were pointless and inane political references thrown in (e.g. some dialogue between Cusack and his girlfriend's (Driver) dad: "How about you - how have the years been treating you?" "Well you know me Martin - still the same old sell-out, exploiting the oppressed..."). And what was the deal with the killer's union? Why in GOD'S name would they start a union if they worked for themselves? It doesn't make any sense at all. The screenwriter apparently wanted to look clever by throwing in political buzzwords, but the end result just falls flat on its face.
And the ending! Oh god...
SPOILERS for ending
I heard people raving about how the ending was unpredictable and non-Hollywood. But, wait a minute, he got the girl at the end! How was THAT unpredictable? And don't even get me started on his proposal to her during the final shoot-out with the bad guys... Ugh.
END SPOILERS
Okay, so maybe I was a little harsh on the movie. I mean, Volunteers also had a cheesy story, unrealistic dialogue, annoying political references, and subpar acting, and I enjoyed that movie. So I guess this movie is actually enjoyable as long as you go in just expected a "fun" movie that isn't supposed to be taken seriously.
I'm sorry to say this movie was a big disappointment for me. I'd never actually heard of this movie, but I saw it once on the list of someone's favorite movies (not someone here), and it was a person who shared almost the exact same taste in movies as me. I also read some reviews at Epinions.com and heard that it was an indie cult classic, better than the usual Hollywood fare. So you can see why my hopes were up before seeing it.
It turned out to have an okay story but it wasn't believable at all. It's about a hit man who goes to his High School class reunion and meets some old friends, including the girl he stood up on Prom Night. Interspersed with this plot are various subplots. For instance, we see him on jobs killing people, we see him corresponding with other hit men, and we see government agents (NSA) planning to assasinate him. What exactly is the point?
The actors could not carry the film. First of all, the Cusacks were in it, and I was never a big fan of them. John Cusack is alright, but he isn't believable as a ruthless hit man at all. Joan Cusack, on the other hand, is IMO the most annoying actress in the industry (she really hams it up here). I can't STAND her. We also have Dan Aykroyd, in his worst performance yet (that I've seen anyway), and Minnie Driver, who suprisingly gives a better performance than the subpar one she gave in Good Will Hunting.
On other notes, the soundtrack just plain sucks, and the dialogue is literally cringe-inducing. It isn't helped by the fact that there were pointless and inane political references thrown in (e.g. some dialogue between Cusack and his girlfriend's (Driver) dad: "How about you - how have the years been treating you?" "Well you know me Martin - still the same old sell-out, exploiting the oppressed..."). And what was the deal with the killer's union? Why in GOD'S name would they start a union if they worked for themselves? It doesn't make any sense at all. The screenwriter apparently wanted to look clever by throwing in political buzzwords, but the end result just falls flat on its face.
And the ending! Oh god...
SPOILERS for ending
I heard people raving about how the ending was unpredictable and non-Hollywood. But, wait a minute, he got the girl at the end! How was THAT unpredictable? And don't even get me started on his proposal to her during the final shoot-out with the bad guys... Ugh.
END SPOILERS
Okay, so maybe I was a little harsh on the movie. I mean, Volunteers also had a cheesy story, unrealistic dialogue, annoying political references, and subpar acting, and I enjoyed that movie. So I guess this movie is actually enjoyable as long as you go in just expected a "fun" movie that isn't supposed to be taken seriously.
