If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The first must-see film of the year.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Raymond Barry is a decent bit part actor and here he is given the task of carrying the movie in the title role. He fails. His character is one of many unsympathetic and unlikable characters who mainly comprise of gangsters and strippers. The phrase no honour amongst thieves is applicable here as Charlie ends up on the run initially after seeing his gang wasted in an attempt to rob a fellow gangster friend played by James Russo. When Valentine hides out from a vengeful Russo with his son in LA the pair of them eventually embark on a robbery against the sons employer (also a gangster)and best friend which ends with fatal consequences for all concerned. Charlie and his son seem so inept that you wonder how the old man had survived in the business for so long. Before the climax much stomach churning father son bonding ensues a la "teach me all you know pops".A plethora of decent if now veteran actors are wasted in what for some are mere cameo roles. For a low budget movie some of the direction is decent and defies the budget however some of the editing is woeful (Although I am not sure if some of this may be due to censorship of the violence). An attempt at an act of contrition by Charlie as he weeps by his wife's graveside comes across as unintentionally funny as Barry only seems to be able to speak in the same monotone voice throughout the duration of the movie.At the climax Charlies conscience eats away at him as he flees the scene again for probably the first time in his life and he returns to try and save his son. This is after Russo had mysteriously walked right past him in the strip joint allowing him to escape. As i mentioned before the characters are so horrible that i raised a cheer when they all bought it at the end and was only left to rue the hour and a half i had just wasted. Avoid.

Complete piece of trash...if it wasn't for the over abundance of strippers I would have fallen asleep. I gave it a generous *3 rating due to the strippers crotch shots and the breasts "o vision used in the strip club scenes. Tom Berenger is in the film for two minutes; even he should be ashamed to let them use his face for PR on this film. The trash you get out of red box these days. I guess it was worth a dollar to see "Blondie"<----(stage name) in her Red Negligee and pumps. More pole dances and a little less attempts at acting would have made this film somewhat enjoyable, as it plays now, not recommend. The Cobra vehicle in the film is also a highlight...

Charlie Valentine is a self absorbed and aging gangster, with a wealth of knowledge concerning the lifestyle. He searches out the son he vaguely remembers and takes advantage of the young man's desire for a father and son relationship. Don't get the mistaken idea this is a family melodrama, Charlie Valentine is a gangster film thru and thru.While big studios put much money, star power, and effort into making standard quality gangster films like Public Enemies and American Gangster, along comes an unassuming writer/director named Jesse Johnson who, with a fraction of the time schedule and budget, makes producing a quality crime film look as easy as a ringin' a bell. Interesting three dimensional characters, solid pacing, smart dialog, skilled cinematography, well staged and believable action, these are just a few of the elements that make this an above average project. These days plenty of films sport an entire cast made up of familiar faces with name recognition, but making proper use of the talent is another matter altogether. No such problem with Charlie Valentine, as it uses it's cast to great effect. Raymond J. Barry as the titular Valentine is excellent and Michael Weatherly compliments him well, meanwhile veteran actors like Steven Bauer, James Russo, Keith David, Vernon Wells, and Tom Berenger, all step up to the plate and deliver the cinematic goods. Is this on par with the best of Scorcese or Bogart? No, though that's a very short list, but Charlie Valentine easily rises above many of it's gangster film contemporaries.

First of all I was really looking forward to seeing this movie, I am familiar with all of the players in this film and had heard great things about it. I saw the trailer from the Sacramento International Film Festival and was quite intrigued.As a fiction writer I have to say the story was great, as a screenplay writer I have to say that it was great and it hit all its plot points right on. As an actor I would have to say that the players were at least a 7 out of 10, but direction defeated some. Where it starts to fall apart is with the editing, sound and direction. The cinematography had it's high points but seemed to be defeated by the direction, sound and FX.At points it was obvious that the editor and Foley were rushed to get this finalized.I came in with elated expectations and came away really angry about the final product. I say give it back to a real hard core editor/storyteller and see what comes out of their efforts.