Sadly Over-hyped

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

The plot for this film and what it was being sold on was actually a pretty good concept, not overly original but good. This movie reminds me of a severe burn on your arm or leg, the burn hurts like hell but it gives you a good story to tell your mates. The acting by some really good and in my view 1st/2nd grade actors will not let you down however let me outlay a few points on Michael Chiklis. It is hard to get into a movie if its a found footage style movie if you suffer with motion sickness or sensitive to joggy camera work, just like that, it is hard to actually get fully into this movie as a lead character Michael Chiklis does a terrible cockney accent. Now I'm not going to say it was the worse example of an actor trying to do an accent because after hearing Jason Statham trying to do an American accent I think we're even. But it didn't help the fact that (IF) Chiklis was sticking strictly to script then it wasn't accurate in the way we talk. A younger bloke would never say to an older bloke "son" just wouldn't happen. Michael Chiklis almost gets run over at the start of the movie where he says "Look where your going you bloody cow" yet a few minutes later he calls Stephen Langs character "cunt" in a realist environment a cockney would have called the bird a "cunt" and we don't say things like take your legs off at the knee, we would say "kneecapping". I'm disappointed because they actually had a Brit on set Max Beesley who I'm sure over his travels have interacted with many cockney's. Over all it is hard to get pass the bad accent but worth a watch non the less.

Why You Might Like It: This is a very good hostage/heist film that will entertain you from start to finish. The pace of the movie is great and it has plenty of action to keep you entertained. There are many notable actors in the movie and everyone involved does a solid job. I also thought the directing was well done and the movie also has a bunch going on to keep you guessing. Overall, a fun watch.Why You Might Not Like It: One of the knocks might be that this film just has too much going on for an hour and a half movie. There are flashbacks, intertwined story lines, twists, etc. that some viewers could find confusing and hard to keep up with. It does seem like an extra 30 minutes or so might have made the movie considerably better.Acting/Casting: 6.5* Directing/Cinematography/Technical: 6.5*Plot/Characters: 6* Entertainment Value: 6.5* Total - 6.5+6.5+6+6.5 = 24.5/4 = 6.375* - Worth a Rental

But unfortunately as things unravel, the movie loses its touch. There are quite a few good actors in it (Chiklis, Reed to name a few) and they're trying their best. For a low budget movie this is fairly well shot too. Of course it's almost entirely one location (with a few exceptions) and you'll either like that or not.For a low budget movie, it's always better to have a few, but interesting locations. So that's a positive side aspect, until you realize there could be more to it. The story, especially towards the end, loses its drive and motivation a bit and gets a little too tricky for its own good. Sometimes simpler is better, if well thought trough ...

This can be heavy going at times. The complexity of who is and who isn't in on the scheme becomes a bit laborious and detracts from the tension. Although it does matter to be intriguing enough to enjoy as things move along with an economy of events. There are enough twists and turns to keep one interested as to who is involved but it is really overwritten.That is to say that a few of the Characters motives have little time in this short Movie to play out and completely compose the story. All of the Acting is acceptable and right up to the end it is a rather tense situation, as most hostage Movies strive. It is just a little too full of itself to be fulfilling. It's a pretty good nail-biter, but overall fails to nail down a completely satisfying wrap up as things get wild and quite muddled. This kind of stuff works much better on the page than on the screen. There have been a lot of Detective Fiction from the likes of Raymond Chandler to prove this time and again. This just tries to be a little too clever for a little Movie.