NateWatchesCoolMovies The Courier is a strange little flick that dabbles in the kind of pulpy narrative which the 80's were famous for. One lone antihero sets out to deliver a package of enigmatic value to a recipient that is always one step ahead of him, proving to be quite elusive. Bad guys and gals hinder him at every turn and violence ensues, leading up to an inevitable confrontation and in this case a neat little twist that admittedly defies any sort of reason, yet is fun for the actors to play out and provides sensationalism, a trait that's commonplace in such films. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a haggard presence in any role, a guy you immediately feel rooted to in a scene. He gets the lead role here, playing an underground criminal courier, passing along dangerous goods from one cloak and dagger person to another. His latest task comes from his handler (Mark Margolis): Deliver an odd case to a reclusive criminal mastermind known only as Evil Sivle. Little information is given beyond that, but it soon becomes apparent that his mission is a cursed one, as he finds himself a hot target for all kinds of weirdos. German live wire Til Schweiger plays a dirty federal agent who hassles him with that campy charisma and narrow eyed theatricality that only he can bring to the table. Miguel Ferrer and Lilli Taylor are priceless as Mr. & Mrs. Capo, a pair of married contract killers who discuss their dinner plans whilst hunting their quarry, and have devised some truly vile torture methods involving culinary instruments. Yeah, it's that kind of movie, where B movie mavericks are let off the chain and allowed to throw zany stuff into their otherwise pedestrian material that often borders on experimental. Morgan is assisted by a young chick (Josie Ho) who saves his ass more than a couple of times. Mickey Rourke shows up late in the game as Maxwell, a mysterious Elvis impersonator and Vegas gangster who plays a crucial role in Courier's quest. Trust Rourke to take a derivative, underwritten supporting character and turn the few minutes of screen time he has into utter gold that elevates his scene onto a plane which the film as a whole is sheepishly undeserved of. Morgan is better than the flick too, but he's great in anything. He ducks the heroic panache of the action protagonist and dives into growling melancholy, his grizzly bear voice and imposing frame put to excellent use. This one got critically shredded upon release. Yeah it ain't great, but it sure as hell ain't terrible. Worth it for a cast that makes it work, and for that classic genre feel that can't be beat.

dileo67 As a Rourke Fan (especially Angel Heart !!!) i found the new film from Director Hany Abu Assad quite amusing. Jeffrey Dean Morgan was refreshing and most sympathetic, while our Star Til Schweiger was not as bad as i usually remember him. Most impressing were a couple of good action sequences ( hard core torture with Miguel Ferrer) and the most hilarious scene I've ever seen Mickey in...him doing a rather short Elvis impersonation...as I said: hilarious.The Storyline lacks here and there an it does indeed remind one of "The Transporter" (I heard they had this movie already a couple of years in the pipeline, hence the "old" story) and "Angel Heart". On the other Hand it is strict and forward,no big misleading story lines, which of course means that you know rather quickly, where the train is going...unless you have never seen Angel Heart, that is.One thing stroke me odd though, the End is a bit ...let's say unusual, or maybe I did not understand the film at all ;-)Do not expect a great action thriller - because it is not ! Do not expect anything and I bet you'll be surprised.

John Raymond Peterson You are bound to think that this movie has Jeffrey Dean Morgan as a cheap version of Jason Statham in the role of the transporter; I hate to admit I did, and I'm a J.D. Morgan fan. So we're not off to a great start. Unlike the Statham role, Morgan takes a beating now and then, and has the bruises to match. The story is that of a courier of last resort (high risk jobs) who is targeted for revenge by a former associate. The plot is meant to have us discover the true identity of the courier and of his former associate in a surprise scene at the end. Unfortunately, this plot which is somewhat reminiscent of the 1987 Angel Heart, and I'm stretching just a bit, just does not have the build up of the 1987 highly rated film in which Mickey Rourke played a role reverse of this 2011 film, sort of that one played by De Niro. Rourke has less screen time than his credit would have us hope for.It's sort of a mystery action, but the mystery part just doesn't quite keep you interested; that mystery, when it does get revealed/explained way at the end is somewhat of a letdown. The fact that the key mystery figure, Evil Sivle played by Mickey Rourke, is masquerading as an Elvis impersonator, pretty lame anagram, would be enough to dissuade most from watching the movie. Well, I guess now that I spoiled it for you, you can thank me by checking the box for useful review.I'm a hard core J.D. Morgan fan and I love long time character actor Mark Margolis, whose performance in TV highest rated series Breaking Bad leaves no doubt about his acting talent, so I stuck it out to the bitter end. I can't say I hated it, but I won't recommend it either; I'd lose all credibility if I did. I think Morgan's career is getting hot, since his role as Clay in the 2010 movie The Losers; I liked his short role in the other 2010 movie Shanghai (not a popular release – it's a film noir genre that's not usually popular anyway). His newer TV series Magic City (I'll post my review soon), however, should get him much better movie scripts in the future.

messiercat This movie certainly had style. It seemed to be directed well. Editing was crisp enough and on the surface it looked pretty interesting. Cinematography was basically very good and quite inventive with a lot of action. But the whole package was a mile wide and an inch deep because the screenplay was a muddled mess, the storyline was laughably inane. Mickey Rourke and Lili Taylor, two actors who can really deliver the goods, were incredibly wasted and about a third of the way into it you realized it was going to be all style and no substance, and that was when I just stopped caring. A clue as to what happened comes when the credits roll. Producers, co producers, associate producers, executive producers galore. Too many cooks in the kitchen destroyed the soup. I've never quite seen a movie like this that had promise and so much energy put into production, but ultimately fell flat on it's face. The first movie that I've seen where I'm completely at a loss as how to rate.