© FAKESHEMP.NET
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Podcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Good Movie Monday
    • WTF was that?
  • MEDIA
    • Videos >
      • Photos
  • GLG
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • About

FOCUS

7/7/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
2015 / Director. Glenn Ficarra & John Requa.
Review by Shaun Crawford.

Will Smith's film career is somewhat of an oddity. As one of the world's most recognisable stars, he's been on our screens for the better part of 30 years but never in that time has he been in a truly great film. He's come close once (Michael Mann's 'Ali') or twice (Tony Scott's 'Enemy of The State') but his efforts have hovered in limbo between downright rubbish ('After Earth') to banal mediocrity ('Seven Pounds').


His latest, 'FOCUS' thankfully falls to the latter but that's damning it with faint praise. In it he stars as suave con-master Nicky Spurgeon, head of a team of 30 tricksters who reap a living on the short-con; pickpockets and hustlers, primarily. 
Into this clandestine world steps sassy Jess (Margot Robbie), a slinky tease and wannabe who convinces Nicky to take her under his wing as an apprentice grifter.

It's hard to give away too much more without spoilers but the remaining 90 minutes twists and turns and convolutes into some that vaguely resembles a narrative.

Con-artist films are a tricky sell for the audience. The problem with them lies in the protagonists motivations; they have to be doing it for the right reasons otherwise they're just, well, criminals stealing from average hard-working Joes for the sake of being greedy - and greed is a hard motivator to get behind.


This, unfortunately, is one of the biggest problems with FOCUS. Sure, everyone is knee-bucklingly good looking, New Orleans looks like a million bucks and is refreshingly free of French Quarter gothic cliches but for all its shiny sheen, Nicky and Jess are, ultimately, just greedy cons operating in a sterile, shiny version of THE BIG EASY.


The other problem lies with the lack of danger. Even when the stakes MIGHT be high it's hard to feel your pulse race when they (and we, the audience) are, in all likelihood, being played, and we know it. For a large chunk of the running-time there's no real threat other than they might not get all of the wallets in the room - Ho-hum.


There is, however, an undeniable chemistry between the leads. Smith and Robbie, while no Clooney and Lopez, do draw the high-card in the romance stakes. 
It's here that Focus gets lively. The cons we've all seen before, but when the film ... erm ... Focuses ... on it's leads we're given the only memorable  beats of the narrative. Smith cranks up the famous charm to 11 and Robbie, to her credit, matches him.

When all is said and done we're left with a film as shallow as the cover-stories the character give each other and a candy-coloured, pop-art version of an otherwise incredibly interesting city.

Watch Mamet's 'House of Games' instead.


Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    OUR WRITERS
    GLENN COCHRANE
    JARRET GAHAN
    SHAUN CRAWFORD
    ALEX MAYNARD
    CHRIS THOMPSON​
    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    September 2010
    April 2010

    RSS Feed

© 2018 FakeShemp.Net    All rights reserved.  FakeShemp.Net Illustrations by MJ Barros. 
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Podcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Good Movie Monday
    • WTF was that?
  • MEDIA
    • Videos >
      • Photos
  • GLG
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • About