LEAVING LAS VEGAS affected me like almost no other movie has, so I was bound to find this film somewhat of a let-down, but even I was surprised by how much. In his other films, Figgis has demonstrated he's a master with mood and atmosphere, and he's good here as well. The scene where Max and Karen first meet is nicely played, without too much foreshadowing thrown in. But this is a conventional plot, and try as he might, Figgis isn't able to make it interesting enough. And as much as I hate Joe Eszterhas (whose screenplay this is re-written from), I can't imagine his ending was any worse (or maybe this was his ending).
I'm not a big fan of Kinski to begin with, but to be fair, she has almost nothing to work with, and she does try. And I like Ming-Na Wen, but she's also stuck, she with a too-unsympathetic character. The men come off better; Snipes and MacLachlan are good, but really, the main reason this is worth watching is Robert Downey Jr., who avoids cliche even when his character is dying. Otherwise, you're left wondering, what the hell was the purpose here?
I'm not a big fan of Kinski to begin with, but to be fair, she has almost nothing to work with, and she does try. And I like Ming-Na Wen, but she's also stuck, she with a too-unsympathetic character. The men come off better; Snipes and MacLachlan are good, but really, the main reason this is worth watching is Robert Downey Jr., who avoids cliche even when his character is dying. Otherwise, you're left wondering, what the hell was the purpose here?