Sadly Over-hyped

Good movie but grossly overrated

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Harvey Keitel comes to play, delivering a fully-formed and convincing portrait of a professional criminal who wants revenge--and the loot that's been stolen from him.Violent and cynical, City of Industry is everything a crime film should be: gut wrenching, powerful and intensely gripping.solid performances in Backbeat and Blood and Wine behind him, Dorff expands his range with a convincing portrayal of youthful amorality. City of Industry is, of course dominated by Keitel, the god head of indie crime films. Working with limited dialogue, he plumbs each gesture for everything that it's worth. Like his bad lieutenant and Mr. White, Roy is another classic creation.. Here is a film noir thriller that plunges the viewer in the dark underbelly of urban Los Angeles, City of Industry is a well crafted work that uses the city in question in a way rarely seen on film, aided by some sharply realised camera-work, that allows the viewer to be drawn on the journey faced by Roy. Keitel excels in playing these seemingly dark, complex souls and manages to give a polished, understated performance as a seemingly cold but deeply human killer to whom we are strangely drawn. Though he' killed off, Timothy Hutton is superb as the unfortunate younger brother, while the always vivid Stephen Dorff gives an urgent, energetic performance as the psychotic Skip. As the sole female of any note, former Bond beauty Famke Janssen is haunting as Rachel. Director Irvin creates mood and tension through use of camera-work and evocative lighting, and though the film is by no means flawless, especially in its relentless violence, it's nonetheless an arresting and fascinating cinematic journey."Keitel is riveting. Stephen Dorff is outstanding as Skip, charming yet ready to blow at any time, while Timothy Hutton is gripping as Lee. These characters drive this thriller, set in a gritty, ruthless Los Angeles. This is a film of contrasts and extremes that heads towards a new beginning; uncompromising, thrilling and engrossing entertainment."

SPOILER ALERT! Easy to dismiss as another in a series of PULP FICTION wannabes, this is much better than expected. Directed with a lot of finesse by John Irvin and starring Harvey Keitel, CITY OF INDUSTRY is a fine crime thriller. Keitel is part of a gang of thieves (which also includes his brother), ripped off by loony cohort Stephen Dorff. A tense game of cat and mouse takes place as Keitel tries to track Dorff down. Keitel, who could easily sleepwalk through this type of film, gives a very good performance (he takes a real beating...several times) and has a lot of chemistry with Famke Janssen (as the widow of one of his cronies). The film is not flawless. The night photography is at times too dark, there is surely one too many name-less characters chasing Keitel, and Dorff is not really threatening enough to be convincing. Nevertheless, it's a well put together revenge film. Stephen Endelman's staccato music is a big plus.

Keitel IS the film. That is about the only real positive I can say. It is a warmed-over "Reservoir Dogs" (insert double-cross flick name here). Dorff does his typical bad boy. Oh, and Lucy Liu topless, and pun intended by "top-less". The cinematography was lit well for being naturally brooding. A few different camera angles were thrown in just so the viewer realizes this was a film and not some cheesy TV crime show. But not much better...except for Harvey K. and a nice turn by Elliot Gould. Famke does a nice job too, but seems to be trying too hard to show her "legit" acting after her Bond girl coming out party. I tried to like it, but this film seems too familiar and not "oh wow" enough to be highly recommended.

City of Industry is a decent effort at a crime movie, and perhaps one the better of a bad bunch of these types of films that seemed to be on a production line since Pulp Fiction came out. We don't get much in terms of character here, well, we do but the two characters the film focuses on at the beginning... well, I'll just say they don't last long. The characters are setting up a jewel heist. They get Harvey Keitel's character, Roy Egan who is the brother of one of the two, and the "wildcard" character, Skip. The film then turns into a revenge film with Roy trying to track down Skip and get revenge and his money. Skip's introduction to the proceedings is an example of where the film fails, it tries to be too cool but it doesn't have the substance to back it up. Apart from this failing though, the film takes some risks that are worthy of note, such as deciding to focus the beginning part of the film on the two characters that get killed to advance the main plot. The film also has some nice LA locations, several murals are seen throughout the film for example, preceding Michael Mann's work on Collateral.