R.I.C.C.O. (2002) User Reviews

Light years from a blockbuster, but promising

[sistersunited · 7/10 · 1 March 2005]

I love independent films and try to support indie filmmakers as often as possible, especially when they're from my hometown, Detroit. It was nice to some of our major attractions highlighted in R.I.C.C.O. on the big screen, and not just the blighted areas usually depicted in most Hollywood films representing Detroit. I like the twist in the storyline of R.I.C.C.O., but this film needed seasoned actors to be able to pull off the script. I wanted to feel more suspense while watching the film. A bigger build up as the movie went along. I also appreciated the fact that the cast was somewhat multicultural. Many films today are not as representative of other ethnicities as they should be. R.I.C.C.O. is light years from a being a blockbuster, but shows promise for these indie filmmakers. I'm a self professed indie-nut, and will continue to show support. But, my word of advice for any indie filmmaker...no-budget or low budget, find incredible talent. Indie-nuts or not, want to see a great performances.

A good low budget movie.

[lscarbor · 8/10 · 25 February 2004]

If you like "Usual Suspects" or thriller type movies where you have to guess who the unknown villain is then you will love R.I.C.C.O. The movie has a lot of comedic scenes ala Pulp Fiction. I saw this movie on DVD and it also has extras that may interest you. The music isn't all that great and it never is in movies that have limited budgets but it really wasn't that bad. Some of the acting and direction was pretty good but there were a few scenes that they could have left on the cutting room floor. In the movie you'll see all the good and bad areas that Detroit has to offer. All and all I recommended this movie to all of my friends who were very impressed with this film.

Funny and Bad ass Indie Filmmaking

[Anmer93 · 8/10 · 26 August 2019]

The ambitious efforts of an independent filmmaker at the start of his career. This film echos the nuts and bolts production of El Mariachi with greater aspirations to a Pulp Fiction esque narrative, it's funny and straight up Bad Ass in places. Well worth a watch whilst kicking back with some beers.

Just Plain Stupid

[jmcgee321 · 1/10 · 2 March 2005]

A movie this dumb should never see the light of day. The acting is lame, the violence is just all over the place, the sneaking ending is just plain stupid.

It's all about a lawyer who saw a murder done by the R.I.C.C.O. squad. No one has never seen him, not even the hit men themselves. So he and a beautiful lady are on the run trying to find the leader of this R.I.C.C.O. squad, before they find them.

Then the movie goes on to a romance, gun shooting, and voodoo. Now how in the hell did voodoo come in this. Never see this film if your life depends on it. Trust Me!!!!!!!!

Better than expected.

[vigilant56 · 10/10 · 25 February 2004]

You never can tell what you will get when you rent a movie that appears to be a "hood" movie along the lines of "Boys In The Hood" but its not even in that genre. R.I.C.C.O. has a multi racial cast and although some of the acting leaves much to be desired you can find yourself being entertained none the less. The movie starts off slowly if but you can make past the first fifteen to twenty minutes then the rest is smooth sailing right up to the climax at the end. This movie is not on par with studio movies for straight to video movies it compares variably. If you look closely you can see some of the locations that they used in "8 Mile ". I recommend this movie as a good second choice video selection.

The STUPIDEST film ever made!

[jmcgee-1 · 1/10 · 20 December 2003]

R.I.C.C.O. is the STUPIDEST film ever made. I can't believe my father bought this crap. This film should da never got made. If this film was wide known, trust me it will be on the #1 spot for IMDB's worst.The acting is horrible it's scary,which it is why it's horror. This piece of s*** had no horror in at at all. It's an urban action,which is funny, because I could of swore it was a comedy. When people got shot I couldn't help but laugh. I am the only person who reviewed this and I hope that I am the last. With this vote only I hope it make it to the #1 spot at the worst!!!!!!!

It's a low budget film don't expect blockbuster appeal.

[swoodard-1 · 10/10 · 20 July 2005]

This movie compares favorably to the other low budget movies you see spit out by up starts such as York Entertainment, Loose Cannon, Maverick... but compared to most films that are listed on this web-site it doesn't. This film falls into the category of $10,000 to $15,000 shoestring budget and should be compared with like budgeted films. There are some good moments that rise above the shackles of the budget for example the car chase on residential streets in act 2 and the chase scene in act three where a late model luxury vehicle jumps a ramp and you can see sparks flying from under the vehicle. The mystery type deal of finding out who R.I.C.C.O. is at the end isn't bad either. So I would recommend this film only to those who are die hard shoe string budget film lovers.

Good NO Budget for NO budget Indie FANS

[film-316 · 9/10 · 17 February 2006]

When I write reviews categorize the movies and studio, independent and low budget indie where the film maker makes a film for ten pr fifteen thousand dollars. Compared to Hollywood this film would fall apart but compared to other films that I've seen at various film festivals and student film festivals. The lighting is good, the acting is okay, the writing is above average and the story is somewhat creative but of course there are a lot of areas where they could have made some improvements but for a student film I would say it was a great effort and I look for these film makers to come out with a second project having learned and gained valuable experience the first time around. I saw this film a while back at the San Francisco Film Festival and the audience reaction was mixed until we learned how much they spent on the film ten thousand and the film was shot in twenty-three days with a amateur cast and crew so to complete a film under those circumstances my hat goes of to those guys. Having said all that I recommend renting the R.I.C.C.O. mainly in the spirit of endorsing independent film making.

Good for a No Budget Indie.

[MovieGuru24 · 10/10 · 12 October 2005]

This is one of those no Budget independent movies that we pass up to rent the block buster movies with stars we recognize in them. When we run out of budgeted movies to rent we begin picking up movies like R.I.C.C.O. to determine if its worth our hard earn four dollars. I am here to report that R.I.C.C.O. makes the cut and it compares favorable to other NO BUDGET films usually made for under Twenty Thousand dollars. I've worked on a couple of Indies myself and this one turned out better than both of them, one was distributed locally in Columbus Ohio and the other was never finished. There are some bloopers and some scene setups (some of which might have you laughing at the film as opposed to with the film) that you can only see in these type of movies. If your not into No Budget films or have a taste for them you probably will not like this one.

Better than most low budget movies

[SPORTSMAN · 10/10 · 25 February 2005]

The movie was put together pretty well for a low budget film. Some of the scenes and the acting wasn't up to par but was good enough for this level of movie. The writing, editing and directing was a little better than you would expect from these little films. I've been to Detroit frequently and you can see a lot of great shots from the inner city to the surrounding suburbs which to some might be worth watching just for the tour alone. Its like taking a trip to the motor city without having to actually go there. If you are a fan of low budget independent film then this one is for you but if you're looking for special effects and computer generated images than skip this selection. Overall on a low budget movie rating scale I'll give it an eight out of ten.

Low-Budget film with lots of promise

[lowercaselizzy · 10/10 · 9 March 2006]

RICCO was quite entertaining for a straight-to-video independent film. I thought the title and story were clever ( RICCO- the Federal racketeering statute enacted to capture mafia and drug-lords on money-laundering charges in hopes of obtaining affidavits for other crimes like murder etc. that were committed.) I also liked the the way the attorney character was brave yet clever in a Columbo-like way.

This has a much more intelligent plot unlike the other films in this genre like "I got the hook- up", "state property", and "cook-out" whose plots are predictable, unimaginative and stereotypical.

I am looking forward to seeing more from this filmmaker as their budgets increase.

This movie is definitely for those who are fans of independent films. This is exactly the kind of film that should be entered into the Hollywood Film Festival, as it was created on a shoe- string budget, but shows that the creators have a lot of potential.

Gripping debut

[jblockbuster · 8/10 · 3 September 2019]

R.I.C.C.O is Shawn Woodard's first film. Obviously it's a low budget indie production, but shows Woodard's skill as an upcoming director. He drags the audience into his story! Great characters, gripping story. Have a look yourself :)