paulclaassen
Mixed feelings. Too much if left to chance and movie convenience. Not much is justified here and the decision to be a comedy or action drama interwtines so much that it leaves you still wondering at the end...
jonnyss
i loved the novel by don winslow, and i was disappointed in the movie.first the positives: i liked paul walker. i delighted in the difference between the personas he plays as the decent but easily angered tim kearney and as the asshole bobby z. olivia wilde is indeed beautiful now the negatives: perhaps i should judge the film on its own merits - in which case it's an OK made-for TV film. but i can't help but notice the best parts of the book are missing: the caring, heartfelt relationships.foreground in the novel is the relationship between a bright, worldly, witty, athletic 6 year old and a decent man who knows nothing about kids. there is a tremendous spark between them - and a wealth of snappy repartee - that delights the reader. the movie substitutes a dull, whiny, out-of-shape, monosyllabic, uneducated 12 year old. what were they thinking? in the book, the crazy wisdom of the beach bum "one-way" saves the day. this bit of magic adds a whimsy that makes the novel different from other shoot-em-outs. all gone from the film. in the book, elizabeth is lovely and decent throughout. in the film, she is lovely to look at, but evil and predatory. she becomes a good guy at the last minute, spurred by kearney's kindness to the young kit. i didn't trust the sudden change of heart, and did not enjoy seeing a predatory elizabeth.so the novel is an action adventure deepened by kearney's relationship with the wonderful kit, the lovely elizabeth, and the magical one-way. none of that depth makes it into the movie
legendaryunderdog
I rented this movie thinking, "Hey, Paul Walker wasn't too bad in the fast and furious films and Laurence Fishburne is just awesome so why not get it?" Well friends, looks can and are deceiving, and I learned the hard way last evening watching this film. The director is trying so bad to keep you involved (or wanting to be involved) and for me it wasn't happening. The whole 'syking everyone out to think I'm Bobby Z' script work got old really quick, Paul Walker's acting was sub par (I haven't seen a lot of his work but I've been told by many that he's not that great of an actor). I cannot imagine what went through Laurence Fishburne's head when choosing to be in this film, he has done better, WAY better! There are way too many close up shots of Paul Walker (for absolutely no other reason than to show off his "Good Looks" and play some really lame music along with it). There is always some hot girl and a kid involved that need their lives saved, if you've seen it once, you've seen it a hundred times (just this time with Paul Walker). I suggest this film to people who only like Paul Walker and his close ups and not action flicks, because thats about all you get. Walker couldn't portray a criminal to save his life! Sorry Paul Walker fans, your boy let me down.
gradyharp
How this story of freeing a deadly criminal from prison to act as a stand-in for an at large criminal (Bobby Z) to bring revenge and closure to corruption on every level of the playing field can continue to be reproduced ad infinitum will remain a puzzle. This tired, poorly acted, hyper kinetic desert film wastes the talent of some good actors, gives plenty of killings to watch, and then introduces counterfeit kindness as a reason for making the film, is a movie to avoid.Paul Walker is the released Bobby Z look-alike who will be freed from his life in prison by Laurence Fishburne's cop image if he merely shows up in Mexico as bait for drug lord Joaquin de Almeida's hostage demands for Fishburne's partner. Of course it all goes wrong at the exchange point, allowing the fake Bobby Z to find a female interest (Olivia Wilde) as well as a little boy (J.R. Villarreal) who is supposedly the son of the real Bobby Z (and therefore is taken in by the fake Bobby Z), and the rest is just a messy chase sequence and series of killings and kidnappings. The bad guys outnumber the good guys, and, well the rest is yesterday's sandwich. Not recommended even if there is nothing else on the shelves to rent! Grady Harp
AD
