This is one of my personal favorite films of all time. It's also one of my favorites in the Neo Noir genre and believe it or not my favorite film from the director. This film plays like an episode arc to "Miami Vice", which is a little ironic as this film was near the same time as that show. Like with "Miami Vice" this film has both a good balance of both style and substance.
I really like the story which really is engaging and thought provoking but all in a good way. It's true it is complex like most noir/neo noir stories are; but once again in a good way as this film just has a lot of details big and small you must pay attention too as their puzzle pieces that make the big picture. This works to the film's advantage because it gives it its replay value to me as it's one of those films you must watch more than once to uncover more, that makes the picture all the bigger and more interesting than before. Also, certain things happen and a twist or two which are ones you might not see a mile away, and I like that feeling because the twists in this film have weight because they make sense the more you think about it, but that those details were always there just like with the counterfeit bills it's easy to overlook them.
There are some good action sequences, they're not wall to wall action but that is because the action in this film is realistic if you can believe that. It makes sense for the genre this film is in as the neo noir genre isn't known for action but in its suspense and story. But most importantly grounding and reminding us that these characters are living in the real world; they're in a career with no second chances and any day could be the last.
There are a couple of memorable action sequences, like a foot chase at an airport which I thought was cool, really like the use of the place but also as usual with those foot chases both the pursuers and pursue always seem to be former track racers as they always seem to cover a great amount of distance, let alone almost unlimited stamina. But of course, the one that stands out the most is the car chase, which to me is one of my favorite chase scenes of all time and was at the time one of the longest car chases. It sort of reminds me a little of the video game series "Grand Theft Auto" as we see both Chance and his partner just driving just about everywhere from different locations to even the wrong side of the road, to lose the people chasing and gunning for them.
Music score is great as its composed by the famous band in the 80's Wang Chung. This is the kind of score that you could hear from "Miami Vice" which is ironic I say as this band's songs were featured in a few episodes. But I really like the feel of the music that fits just like a glove for the film, where the songs have a lot of pop and excitement, but at the same time there is an underlying darkness in the tone.
One of the things I love is the style and color. The film really has nice imagery that is a treat for your eyes but also serves the purpose of the story. We see L. A. for its beauty but at the same time the dirt, girt, seedy end of things. This helps in pertaining to the constant theme of counterfeit throughout the film; because most of the time when we think of L. A. we think of the positive things from movies, movie stars, Disneyland, Beverly Hills, and every other positive thing. However, there is over course the dark end of things, from those dirty seedy streets and the dirty business conducted and most of the crime that occurs within those negative environments. It really gives you the feeling of a deceptive city where nothing and no one is whom they seem.
I really like how throughout the film we see the red orange color, the color of fire. This color along with the element of fire acts as a constant foreshadowing for what's to come in the film. But it's also to give the film its dangerous atmosphere on how L. A. has become a hellscape for corruption. This also displays the true nature of corruption which is really destruction.
And of course the characters are all solid, well played out by a well-chosen cast. From Richard Chance played well by William Peterson whom of course you may remember as Gill Grisom from the "CSI" series; I'll admit it took me by surprise seeing him in this and this is a radically different character from the level headed protagonists he usually plays, because as we see Chance is kind of an anti-hero as he isn't that good of a guy, probably not at all by nature.
William Defoe who is good as always as the main villain Eric Masters. He's one of my favorite fictional noir/suspense thriller villains as he's a rather mysterious and dangerous sot. He's highly intelligent, in control, knows what he's doing, always manages to get a step ahead of everyone. Has sort of that introverted, passive aggressive, even slightly unpredictable nature to him. As we see he's also cold and ruthless, whenever anyone attempts to double cross him or even take him down, he doesn't hesitate to take them out of the picture.
The rivalry between both Chance and Masters is intriguing but also fascinating because of the parallel dichotomous dynamic between both Chance and Masters. Both characters are the same but on different sides of the counterfeit bill.
Both don't like playing by the rules except their own, with Masters of course that's in his crime business behind his artist career. Chance, despite working for the system has a deep seeded hatred toward it, probably because it doesn't operate fast enough or the way he wants it to; so he plays by his own rules to in his mind still enforce the law or his definition of it. Both have passion in their work as both have that same artistic passion in a way, with Masters it's in the paintings he does but also the counterfeit ring he manages in precision manner like in the portraits he paints. Chance it's in the planning and execution in his operations he works up to the last detail all to create the big picture which is on shutting the man down.
It's also in the little details their both alike, from the fact both are good dressers and most of the time in the black color from Masters with a T-Shirt but we see Chance wears a black leather coat in most of the film. There was a moment when Chance combs his hair slicked back which is the same hair style that Masters wears his hair. There is even one single line in the film "your beautiful" Masters and Chance say this line in two different scenes.
Let alone their relationships with as both don't have close friends at least none I know about; alright except for one friend of Chance's we see in the beginning but he doesn't talk about him despite tragedy caused by his adversary. Chance still remembers him but he's not a big motive or part of his chase. Also Chance and Masters have no love lives as the women their involved with they use for whatever purposes they have set for them.
The main motive for both is on mastery which is one of the revolving themes in the film, both want mastery over life and death. As we see Chance and Masters are clearly war addicts as they both really are doing their jobs for the thrill of it all. With Masters he has a quiet joy as he likes just being in control of it all. Like one scene that reflects his mindset is when in the beginning we see him burning one of his paintings. He does this as a reminder to himself that he is always in control as he's the true keeper of the image he painted from his mind.
Chance it's almost a game to him, as we see in one scene in the aftermath of a dangerous situation that almost cost him and his partner his life, he mentions Michael Jordan and the Lakers; in his mind he's like a star player in a Basketball game making the winning baskets in the big game.
The characters last names are ironic , as we see both are true to them, however the thing is both concepts of chance and mastery go hand in hand; because the element of chance is part of what leads to mastery over one's self. But also a master must always have and take chances, in order to reinforce and further one's mastery.
The other theme in the film is on counterfeit, counterfeit is all about conducting one big deception. Both Masters and Chance are deceivers, as they constantly deceive both the opposition and the people they work with. However, they also deceive themselves as both have never admitted once in their life their wrong.
With Masters he probably never thinks of himself as a bad guy, not exactly sure what he thinks of himself, may 'be as simply a guy that's simply trying to achieve empowerment and enlightenment to himself. Chance, it's just as the guy that gets the job done and does them right which is one step closer to the masterhood he seeks, even though things are getting messy, and he may have crossed the line too far. This makes the film even more suspenseful because from how far both take things, you have this constant sense of doom as you know in the back of your mind things aren't going to go well, for both.
In the heat of corruption, there is no trust, no second chances and no way out.
Rating: 4 stars.
I really like the story which really is engaging and thought provoking but all in a good way. It's true it is complex like most noir/neo noir stories are; but once again in a good way as this film just has a lot of details big and small you must pay attention too as their puzzle pieces that make the big picture. This works to the film's advantage because it gives it its replay value to me as it's one of those films you must watch more than once to uncover more, that makes the picture all the bigger and more interesting than before. Also, certain things happen and a twist or two which are ones you might not see a mile away, and I like that feeling because the twists in this film have weight because they make sense the more you think about it, but that those details were always there just like with the counterfeit bills it's easy to overlook them.
There are some good action sequences, they're not wall to wall action but that is because the action in this film is realistic if you can believe that. It makes sense for the genre this film is in as the neo noir genre isn't known for action but in its suspense and story. But most importantly grounding and reminding us that these characters are living in the real world; they're in a career with no second chances and any day could be the last.
There are a couple of memorable action sequences, like a foot chase at an airport which I thought was cool, really like the use of the place but also as usual with those foot chases both the pursuers and pursue always seem to be former track racers as they always seem to cover a great amount of distance, let alone almost unlimited stamina. But of course, the one that stands out the most is the car chase, which to me is one of my favorite chase scenes of all time and was at the time one of the longest car chases. It sort of reminds me a little of the video game series "Grand Theft Auto" as we see both Chance and his partner just driving just about everywhere from different locations to even the wrong side of the road, to lose the people chasing and gunning for them.
Music score is great as its composed by the famous band in the 80's Wang Chung. This is the kind of score that you could hear from "Miami Vice" which is ironic I say as this band's songs were featured in a few episodes. But I really like the feel of the music that fits just like a glove for the film, where the songs have a lot of pop and excitement, but at the same time there is an underlying darkness in the tone.
One of the things I love is the style and color. The film really has nice imagery that is a treat for your eyes but also serves the purpose of the story. We see L. A. for its beauty but at the same time the dirt, girt, seedy end of things. This helps in pertaining to the constant theme of counterfeit throughout the film; because most of the time when we think of L. A. we think of the positive things from movies, movie stars, Disneyland, Beverly Hills, and every other positive thing. However, there is over course the dark end of things, from those dirty seedy streets and the dirty business conducted and most of the crime that occurs within those negative environments. It really gives you the feeling of a deceptive city where nothing and no one is whom they seem.
I really like how throughout the film we see the red orange color, the color of fire. This color along with the element of fire acts as a constant foreshadowing for what's to come in the film. But it's also to give the film its dangerous atmosphere on how L. A. has become a hellscape for corruption. This also displays the true nature of corruption which is really destruction.
And of course the characters are all solid, well played out by a well-chosen cast. From Richard Chance played well by William Peterson whom of course you may remember as Gill Grisom from the "CSI" series; I'll admit it took me by surprise seeing him in this and this is a radically different character from the level headed protagonists he usually plays, because as we see Chance is kind of an anti-hero as he isn't that good of a guy, probably not at all by nature.
William Defoe who is good as always as the main villain Eric Masters. He's one of my favorite fictional noir/suspense thriller villains as he's a rather mysterious and dangerous sot. He's highly intelligent, in control, knows what he's doing, always manages to get a step ahead of everyone. Has sort of that introverted, passive aggressive, even slightly unpredictable nature to him. As we see he's also cold and ruthless, whenever anyone attempts to double cross him or even take him down, he doesn't hesitate to take them out of the picture.
The rivalry between both Chance and Masters is intriguing but also fascinating because of the parallel dichotomous dynamic between both Chance and Masters. Both characters are the same but on different sides of the counterfeit bill.
Both don't like playing by the rules except their own, with Masters of course that's in his crime business behind his artist career. Chance, despite working for the system has a deep seeded hatred toward it, probably because it doesn't operate fast enough or the way he wants it to; so he plays by his own rules to in his mind still enforce the law or his definition of it. Both have passion in their work as both have that same artistic passion in a way, with Masters it's in the paintings he does but also the counterfeit ring he manages in precision manner like in the portraits he paints. Chance it's in the planning and execution in his operations he works up to the last detail all to create the big picture which is on shutting the man down.
It's also in the little details their both alike, from the fact both are good dressers and most of the time in the black color from Masters with a T-Shirt but we see Chance wears a black leather coat in most of the film. There was a moment when Chance combs his hair slicked back which is the same hair style that Masters wears his hair. There is even one single line in the film "your beautiful" Masters and Chance say this line in two different scenes.
Let alone their relationships with as both don't have close friends at least none I know about; alright except for one friend of Chance's we see in the beginning but he doesn't talk about him despite tragedy caused by his adversary. Chance still remembers him but he's not a big motive or part of his chase. Also Chance and Masters have no love lives as the women their involved with they use for whatever purposes they have set for them.
The main motive for both is on mastery which is one of the revolving themes in the film, both want mastery over life and death. As we see Chance and Masters are clearly war addicts as they both really are doing their jobs for the thrill of it all. With Masters he has a quiet joy as he likes just being in control of it all. Like one scene that reflects his mindset is when in the beginning we see him burning one of his paintings. He does this as a reminder to himself that he is always in control as he's the true keeper of the image he painted from his mind.
Chance it's almost a game to him, as we see in one scene in the aftermath of a dangerous situation that almost cost him and his partner his life, he mentions Michael Jordan and the Lakers; in his mind he's like a star player in a Basketball game making the winning baskets in the big game.
The characters last names are ironic , as we see both are true to them, however the thing is both concepts of chance and mastery go hand in hand; because the element of chance is part of what leads to mastery over one's self. But also a master must always have and take chances, in order to reinforce and further one's mastery.
The other theme in the film is on counterfeit, counterfeit is all about conducting one big deception. Both Masters and Chance are deceivers, as they constantly deceive both the opposition and the people they work with. However, they also deceive themselves as both have never admitted once in their life their wrong.
With Masters he probably never thinks of himself as a bad guy, not exactly sure what he thinks of himself, may 'be as simply a guy that's simply trying to achieve empowerment and enlightenment to himself. Chance, it's just as the guy that gets the job done and does them right which is one step closer to the masterhood he seeks, even though things are getting messy, and he may have crossed the line too far. This makes the film even more suspenseful because from how far both take things, you have this constant sense of doom as you know in the back of your mind things aren't going to go well, for both.
In the heat of corruption, there is no trust, no second chances and no way out.
Rating: 4 stars.
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