A massive failure at the box office, only earning 2.500 dollars in 3 screens in the U.S. and only big-screened in only three another countries, Portugal, earning 12.500 dollars there, the U.K. S and Japan, of which there aren't any income records. With a 12 million dollar budget, this is a major flop, obviously. BMW didn't get much back from their sponsoring.
But the film isn't by all means that bad. This gets bashed due to a part of the story putting some off, and it's not the violence. In stead the film is very enjoyable on many levels, as a film noir filmed story with lots of cult potential.
An old convict gets out of prison, unwillingly revisiting his past, finding most of his old companions in crime dead and buried. Awaiting him, though, is a son of his partners, Ethan, which is an apple which hasn't fallen far from the three. And he's proud of it, but has an agenda.
The opening is very interesting. We watch people fallen on the wrong side of the fence of life. The acting is good. Obviously by Samuel L. Jackson, and very much so by mob boss Tom Wilkinson. Deborah Kara Unger is also good. Not to fond of Luke Kirby here, though, being less convincing. I'd love to see a real slick devil in that role. The chemistry between Jackson and Ruth Negga isn't there at all, starting out the film's problem. It's simply not believable. It's easy to see on the screen that they don't fancy each other. What a bad casting, of an otherwise proved good Negga.
The scenes with them slows down the movie so much, that you lose interest in the film. I can't help thinking these would have been great scenes, if the chemistry was working. The shifts and clippings which could make the film fast paced, slows it down. Thankfully it paces up again.
I like the tone of the movie. I felt it was a pleasant watch, with good production value, good filming and nice plot. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that this was "a gritty serving of pulp fiction", and it is. Obviously referencing to Jacksons main role in "Pulp fiction". The film is better than it's rating here.
I would say this is one of the better in this genre I've seen, and it's absolutely worth watching. The best "convict trying to get back to life"-film I saw was the comedy "A somewhat gentle man". A equally gritty movie, but much funnier to watch.
But the film isn't by all means that bad. This gets bashed due to a part of the story putting some off, and it's not the violence. In stead the film is very enjoyable on many levels, as a film noir filmed story with lots of cult potential.
An old convict gets out of prison, unwillingly revisiting his past, finding most of his old companions in crime dead and buried. Awaiting him, though, is a son of his partners, Ethan, which is an apple which hasn't fallen far from the three. And he's proud of it, but has an agenda.
The opening is very interesting. We watch people fallen on the wrong side of the fence of life. The acting is good. Obviously by Samuel L. Jackson, and very much so by mob boss Tom Wilkinson. Deborah Kara Unger is also good. Not to fond of Luke Kirby here, though, being less convincing. I'd love to see a real slick devil in that role. The chemistry between Jackson and Ruth Negga isn't there at all, starting out the film's problem. It's simply not believable. It's easy to see on the screen that they don't fancy each other. What a bad casting, of an otherwise proved good Negga.
The scenes with them slows down the movie so much, that you lose interest in the film. I can't help thinking these would have been great scenes, if the chemistry was working. The shifts and clippings which could make the film fast paced, slows it down. Thankfully it paces up again.
I like the tone of the movie. I felt it was a pleasant watch, with good production value, good filming and nice plot. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that this was "a gritty serving of pulp fiction", and it is. Obviously referencing to Jacksons main role in "Pulp fiction". The film is better than it's rating here.
I would say this is one of the better in this genre I've seen, and it's absolutely worth watching. The best "convict trying to get back to life"-film I saw was the comedy "A somewhat gentle man". A equally gritty movie, but much funnier to watch.