This was a really good movie. In order to defend this movie, I must mention things that you may consider spoilers. Okay valiant film fan, read on.
Other reviewers are judging this movie unfairly. This may be due to the poor career choices Nicholas Cage has made of late. Yes he has made many stinkers recently, but this isn't one of them so don't let that prevent you enjoying this film. Also many claim the ending is bad. I disagree.
Two cops played by Cage and Wood plan a heist. Cage is the blustering leader and Woods is the hesitant cynic; Fairly straight forward elements so far. They plan the heist, carry it out and then the pressure gets too much for both of them and the plan goes awry. This is a standard boiler plate plot as far as crime fiction goes; the failed heist film.
That plot structure doesn't detract from movies like Reservoir Dogs, Dog Day Afternoon or Scarface. Its a staple that is as old as 1920s and 1930s crime films that always had to end with the criminals suffering for their crimes - crime doesn't pay. So I don't know why everyone is so damned surprised. Another lesson learned from studying real criminals is that almost all of them get caught doing something stupid.
This is realistic, but people see it in a film and they freak out over it as though it would never happen in real life, when people that study crime would disagree. I think the negativity over this film has to do with the limitation of certain people's understanding of the crime genre, true crime stories, than any failure on the part of this film.
Other reviewers are judging this movie unfairly. This may be due to the poor career choices Nicholas Cage has made of late. Yes he has made many stinkers recently, but this isn't one of them so don't let that prevent you enjoying this film. Also many claim the ending is bad. I disagree.
Two cops played by Cage and Wood plan a heist. Cage is the blustering leader and Woods is the hesitant cynic; Fairly straight forward elements so far. They plan the heist, carry it out and then the pressure gets too much for both of them and the plan goes awry. This is a standard boiler plate plot as far as crime fiction goes; the failed heist film.
That plot structure doesn't detract from movies like Reservoir Dogs, Dog Day Afternoon or Scarface. Its a staple that is as old as 1920s and 1930s crime films that always had to end with the criminals suffering for their crimes - crime doesn't pay. So I don't know why everyone is so damned surprised. Another lesson learned from studying real criminals is that almost all of them get caught doing something stupid.
This is realistic, but people see it in a film and they freak out over it as though it would never happen in real life, when people that study crime would disagree. I think the negativity over this film has to do with the limitation of certain people's understanding of the crime genre, true crime stories, than any failure on the part of this film.