Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

Beautiful, moving film.

A Brilliant Conflict

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Dr. Eugene Sands (David Duchovny) was stripped of his license when he operated while high. He is at a bar scoring drugs. There's a shooting and he helps the victim getting the attention of Claire (Angelina Jolie). Goons bring Sands to counterfeiter Raymond Blossom (Timothy Hutton) who hires him as a personal doctor. Claire is Blossom's girlfriend and Sands is paid $10k for saving his 'friend' at the bar.Timothy Hutton is not a good tough guy. When he's surrounded by other actors who always play tough, he looks silly. The movie feels fake on its own but he just makes it worst. He should forget about the blond hair and the slick clothes. They don't fit him. He's better off with a nice suit and act like a CEO. Duchovny is not good enough as a drug addict either. Jolie is oozing sexuality. Most of the movie struggles for pace and tension. This is trying for neo-noir crime drama with the style and the narration. It fails badly. The wipes, the camera effects, the locations and all the rest seem to be trying way too hard to make a bad movie more interesting.

Underrated action movie that cannot escape that late twentieth century style of combining violent thrills and hard-boiled criminals with a patina of aloof detachment and self consciousness. Sometimes it works well (Tarantino/Rodriguez/Rami) but it is a tricky conceit and you have to be a talent to pull it off. Often the style fails miserably, but not here.While not in the same league as films directed by the above mentioned, this one has enough attraction to keep it from failing. It is an entertaining romp with a good story and is not brought down by some soggy script development and a couple of over the top, completely out there, characters (F.B.I. Agent and some assorted cartoon villains).Overall this one is overlooked as one of the better of this type of thing, a viewer-friendly cross gender popcorn picture, and is worth a view.

What makes certain TV idols fail miserably at the movies? It's something that is hard to explain. While a lot of actors that start in television go to have great film careers, there are others like David Caruso, Matthew Perry, Gillian Armstrong, and as it is proven in this movie, David Duchovny, that will be better off to keep the day jobs in the small screen where they can excel.A ridiculous screen play doesn't add anything new to the genre, as is the case with this film. Then, we hear the flat reading that Mr. Duchovny, as the narrator, gives in a voice over, that practically sinks the movie. He sounds pathetic. Just hearing the theme song is enough to turn any would be viewer away!Most films are made with the best intentions. There must be a lot of things that can go wrong, as it appears to be the case with this one, and not because the film makers decided to sabotage the movie. I had not seen this film in its commercial run, and since there was nothing else going on, decided to take a look at it when it was shown on cable.A caution: Watch it at your own risk!

PLAYING GOD, a failed attempt from David Duchovny to kick start a movie career, is a big-screen vehicle in desperate need of repair. He plays a disgraced M.D. who saves the life a shooting victim - a henchman of local crime boss played by Timothy Hutton. Impressed with his currently unused talents, Hutton hires Duchovny as his gang's full-time doctor. This premise could have made an interesting thriller, but the plot just drunkenly stumbles along, stocking up on clichés (soft-boiled monotonous voice-overs; technoesque soundtrack; pointlessly artsy cinematography) like they're going out of style, until the storyline creates a level of ennui in the viewer that's too much for anyone to bear. And Hutton is about as menacing as a squirt gun.