User reviews

Nicolas Cage has been on a bad movie streak for a while now. Every now and then he makes a winner, but most are forgettable B-movies that he agrees to do for a paycheck: You can't blame the man for doing his job. However, not all B-movies are bad - in fact, they're ideal entertainment if you want to sit back, relax, and shut off your brain for a couple hours. Trespass provides that mindless entertainment in spades, with a few head-scratches along the way.

The premise of Trespass is simple: Nic Cage plays a diamond dealer who lives in a beautiful house with his wife and daughter, and some thugs break into the house one day to steal his stash. Nicole Kidman plays his wife who feels distant from her hard-working husband, and the daughter is a typical rebellious teen that sneaks out and goes to a party behind her parents' back. Nothing special.

What makes this movie interesting is the performances. Cage taps into his subtlety - something he rarely does these days - which helps the tension and uneasiness of the atmosphere build until he finally bursts (on more than one occasion). And you never really know what is going through his head. These characters have secrets, all of them, and herein lies most of the film's faults.

The villains in this movie are a mixed bag. Each of the burglars have their own agenda that we find out over the course of the movie through the use of flashbacks and security cam footage. Some of the reveals are a pleasant surprise, others leave you scratching your head. It gets to the point that they're trying to intertwine all these villains' motives together but it ends up feeling forced and underwhelming. However, it is nice that they tried to do something different. Also Ben Mendelsohn's performance as the lead maniac and his eccentric back-and-forth between Cage really adds to the gravity of the situation and makes for a gripping protagonist-antagonist dynamic.

So to wrap up, this is not a thinking man's movie. You can try to put all the pieces together at the end but you'll only end up confused and disappointed - it's not worth the effort. The best thing you can do is grab some popcorn, turn off your brain and watch the events unravel before your eyes. You won't remember this movie as one of Cage's best that's for sure, but it's far from his worst. A good date movie? Sure. It's only 90 minutes, and if you're a fan of Nicolas Cage, you'll surely get at least some enjoyment from Trespass.

I was curious to watch "Trespass" because of the interesting casting of Nic Cage and Nic Kidman. I was a bit wary about Nic Cage, as his films lately have been a bit on the hammy side. Despite his leery reputation though, it is a wonder that he continues to get a lot of work, but good for him. Another curiosity about this film was the name of Joel Schumacher as director. His was a big name in directing box-office hits in the 80s and 90s. The last of film of his I had seen was when he directed Gerard Butler as "Phantom of the Opera."

"Trespass" turned out to be a film about a family whose beautiful suburban house was intruded upon by a gang of desperate amateur robbers. The robbers were quite violent and brutal the way they treated diamond trader Kyle Miller (Nic Cage), his glamorous wife Sarah (Nic Kidman) and their rebellious young daughter Avery (Liana Liberato). Things got a little more complicated when it was revealed that one of the robbers Jonah (Cam Gigandet) had a psychotic crush on Sarah.

The performances were over the top and unconvincing, both of the victims and the intruders. Nicole Kidman reminded me of her debut performance in "Dead Calm" as the victim of a psycho guy in love with her. However, she definitely loses her subtlety as well as any sexual tension as a victim here. Nicolas Cage was typically florid in his acting. You don't know where from his business background he got his extreme gung-ho bravado in facing these robbers! It was good to see Liana Liberato again after her memorably disturbing debut film "Trust." She had her good moments here. Cam Gigandet was appropriately creepy as the deluded Romeo. Jonah's brother and gang ringleader Elias was well-played by Ben Mendelsohn, whom I just realized was one of the sons in another crime family in "Animal Kingdom."

This was probably one of the noisiest movies set in a single house that I have seen. Everyone was always hysterically screaming and shouting at the top of their lungs. Despite the brutality of the robbers, it was a wonder how the victims also had the guts to stand up to them. The Millers were daringly answering and fighting back in spite of the guns brandished by the bad men in their faces! I must say this whole thing was highly improbable and unrealistic. Watch this at your own risk. Strictly for fans of the two Nics.

As is usually the case when a movie gets bad press, I felt compelled to see it for myself. As a fan of Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman, I was also interested to see just how terrible they were.

In actual fact I think the critics have been a little cruel. As other reviewers have commented, this is no groundbreaking piece of work; it's a home invasion story and highlights the lengths people will go to for money (see Panic Room for more details....!). Yes there is a lot of screaming from Nicole and a lot of people saying "run" and no one runs anywhere, but to be fair if I was in their position, I would likely be in a corner papping myself with fear.

It seems that they follow a similar formula to Panic Room, in that the burglars are pretty brutal and one or two of them seem slightly unhinged, but this is clearly a device used to work up tension as they become more panicked and more unpredictable. In a sense I liked this element, which showed something more of the invaders' humanity; their fears and failings.

All in all this is not an amazing film, but nor is it that terrible. It also isn't half as violent as people make out - there is a fair amount of threat but I have seen a lot worse and I am not a fan of violent movies. So 6/10 seems a fair score, although personally I quite enjoyed it - it was easy enough to watch and I was interested enough to keep watching to the end. But maybe that's just me.

I watched this the other day with mixed expectations due to reading the other reviews on here.

Don't bother wasting your time with this movie unless you like typical over acted predictable Hollywood releases.

I found it your typical business man married to a beautiful wife with an equally beautiful teenage daughter living in a beautiful pad. People break in to steal from the rich Family, and things don't exactly go according to plan.

Yes,it has 2 very good actors, but the premise for the movie, home invasion, has been done to death! Bruce Willis in Hostage is one, Kevin Bacon and the beautiful Charlize Theron in Trapped and one that I really enjoyed, Gerard Butler and Pierce Brosnan in Butterfly on a wheel.

If you want to watch a good home invasion movie try the last two and forget about Trespass!

To be honest I wasn't expecting very much out of this. Yes, it had a pretty solid cast with Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman as the leads, but the premise seemed overdone and therefore not all that interesting. A home invasion movie? Another one? It seems to me that there's been a lot of home invasion movies done in recent years, and how much more could possibly be done with that basic premise. The bad guys are going to break in to the rich family's home and be vicious - and eventually they're going to lose. That's how it happens. Every time. So, no, I wasn't expecting very much out of this, and for the first while that's exactly what I got. It seemed like the stereotypical home invasion movie. Yawn!

I have to say, though, that the story picks up speed. There's a lot of twists and turns involved, and - more to the point - there are so many lies being told by almost everyone involved in this that there comes a point when you aren't really sure who's telling the truth and who's not, or why what's happening is actually happening. So I give credit to those who put this together for taking a very well worn premise and turning it into something that actually did capture and hold my attention.

Cage and Kidman were both pretty good in their roles - Cage as a diamond dealer, and Kidman as his wife. I didn't find anything spectacular about their performances, but both were solid, and the movie makes all those twists and turns, and eventually the lies are sorted out and the end result is a pretty decent take on that well worn home invasion scenario. (7/10)

I wanted to see a new thriller expecting something like Panic Room and hopefully something that exceeds it in terms of plot and suspense. Boy, I was wrong. Where do I start ? First, the whole premise is unrealistic and not convincing to say the least. If the character of Cage just had a little sense he will have avoided all the trouble that followed and there would have been no movie. The plot is not really original or intricate. The performances are so so. Cage plays the typical confused character he has played for the last 20 plus years. Nicole Kidman is all right and nice to look at but nothing else. Their daughter gives a solid performance. They were trying to include some references to the recession and its impact on the life of this supposedly wealthy family. For me, it didn't work. I couldn't really relate to any of the characters and did not feel sorry for their misery. If you want to watch a movie with a similar plot, go watch Panic room. Do not waste your time with this one.

Reading all the bad reviews here decided my decision to put my view. I actually found this movie quite exciting to watch. I don't always want to dissect a film as I'm watching it but to just try to enjoy some harmless entertainment which I found here. It rattles along at a fairly brisk pace, which involves an apparently well off family, being invaded by four mentally challenged thugs, three guys and a woman. The two leads, Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman are the married couple who have a daughter living with them, who just happen to have some personal problems to deal with, even before the gang invade their home. The script is totally unbelievable in that Nic Cage constantly tells these thugs, reasons why they are doing everything wrong. I think in reality they would have just either killed the occupants or disabled them in some way after not finding anything quickly to hand and then scarpered. The unbelievable part is that the things that Cage comes up with, keeps making these villains stop and consider whether what he's saying, makes any sense and whether he has a point! All a bit far fetched. Anyway, this drags it out to about 90 minutes which keeps the action going. A sort of poor man's Panic Room but still fun and quite gripping to watch. Maybe I just like these kind of thrillers and I do like the stars which helps.

Kyle Miller (Nicholas Cage) returns home after a business trip. Kyle seems to be quite evidently on top of his game by the looks of the car he drives and the estate he lives on. A modern day mansion that could easily pass out as pimped up residence on MTV cribs! Sarah (Nicole Kidman) has been eagerly anticipating her husband's return. Sarah does seem to have missed his presence quite much that she has prepared a lovely dinner herself and also done some lingerie shopping to entice Kyle. Kyle Miller has not come to where he is financially by taking life easy. Kyle who clearly is a workaholic misses out on all his wives signals and retires into his study to put away some valuables in the safe. Young Avery Miller (Liana Liberato) gives the old couple a slip and sneaks out of the estate and meets up with her friend and drives away for a party at a friend's place. Moments later the doorbell chimes; there are cops at the entrance of the Miller estate!

Californian born writer Karl Gajdusek is someone all you readers/viewers should look out for in the future. This man clearly has done an above average job with the script TRESPASS. A noteworthy script for a debut attempt by Karl Gajdusek and justifiable direction by veteran director Joel Schumacher (PHONE BOOTH, BAD COMPANY, 8MM). Schumacher who has worked with Cage before knows the ropes. If there is one thing about Nicholas Cage, then it is that he is good at playing the underdog who strives to come on top of things and have the last word. A wise casting decision considering the angle of the plot! There isn't much to play with and the story unfolds quite blandly. The beauty or rather the intriguing element of TRESPASS lies in the plot and the acting. As for Schumacher this is an easy task when he is working with Hollywood royalty such as Nicole Kidman and Nicholas Cage.

Kidman takes on a more serious role than what she took on with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Anniston in JUST GO WITH IT. A Kidman talent; the diverse ability to play roles in a production within any genre is not something we see amongst most actors or actresses of today. A few such as Nicole Kidman, Will Smith, John Travolta, Bradley Cooper and maybe Sandra Bullock could pull it off. These are a few off the top of my head, I am certain we do have a plethora of talent oozing out of the seams of Hollywood ; to me the above seem to stand out. Coming back to Kidman the emotion she plays with is outstanding. Do you recall MOULIN ROUGE; and how she played Satine? This is exactly how I felt she plays Sarah Miller. A bit of innocence, a touch of deceit and with pinch desperation! Personally Cage is one of my all-time favorites however Kidman is indeed a show stealer.

Without over selling TRESPASS by going on and on about it, why don't I leave it to you to decide how Kyle and Sarah Miller handles the cops who are at the entrance of their estate!

Title: Trespass Directed by: Joel Schumacher Starring: Nicholas Cage, Nicole Kidman, Cam Gigandet and Liana Liberato Rated: R for violence and terror, pervasive language and some brief drug use. Rating: 07/10 91minutes

I can't imagine Nicole Kidman agreeing to do this movie. I like Nicolas Cage as well, and I can understand why, as mentioned in your trivia, he was unsure of playing either the role of the husband or the robber in this film. He was probably trying to save his reputation but realized playing either part would be an embarrassment. This is a terrible, terrible movie in every way.

The plot is very weak, and the acting is poor. Throughout the film, we are force fed gratuitous violence.

When choosing to watch a movie that I am unfamiliar with, the actors are usually the deciding factor. After watching this movie, I need to rethink this strategy.

Say what you will about the number of recipe films whose basic ingredients are rich people in beautiful houses who are raided by gangsters and held hostage in their own home only to turn the stakes on the perpetrators, but in the hands of director Joel Schumacher it is a pretty dependable fact that the intensity of the film will last form the opening titles to the closing credits. TRESPASS is not a brilliant or unique film, but it is a quality piece of work. It has a script By Karl Gajdusek with some fine lines and quality twists that keep the audience guessing and enough innovative bits of action that make the film seem fresh (even if the behavior of all concerned is not to swift!).

Kyle Miller (Nicholas Cage) appears obsessed with his business life - marketing diamonds - and comes home to his mansion (designed by his wife) where wife Sarah (Nicole Kidman) seems to be needing more than an income to make her life complete. They share a teenage daughter Avery (Liana Liberato) who is typically making her own decisions about socializing despite her parents objections: she sneaks out of the highly security guarded house to go to a naughty party. In the rush of all this there is a call at the door which when opened shows us four masked bandits who are there to rob the safe. The thugs are a strange assortment: the main speaker is Elias (the talented Ben Mendelsohn), his druggie girlfriend Petal (Jordana Spiro), Eiias' young brother Jonah (the hunky rising star Cam Gigandet), and the heavy Ty (Dash Mihok). The crooks want the safe opened but Kyle refuses, beginning to bargain with the thugs until the truth of his financial situation is made known. Sarah wants Kyle to open the safe, attempting to hide her own secret that involves Jonah. Avery sneaks back home to find her parents beaten and held as hostages and all the secrets of all the cast are gradually revealed - secrets that lead to an unexpected resolution.

Nicholas Cage is Nicholas Cage, and it works for him. The real star turns in the film are those by Ben Mendelsohn and Cam Gigandet. Nicole Kidman provides solid support in her bifurcated role. The movie is no great shakes, but it is a tense evening's entertainment. One surprise comes in the closing credits: they are rolled with some very soothing and beautiful movie music by David Buckley instead of the usual hardrock noisy song that most of these movies select to bring the film to a close. Small kudo but worth it.

Grady Harp

Kyle and Sarah are two husbands owners of a luxury villa, drive expensive cars and in their house is a safe in witch they have money and diamonds, that is why they put price on the security and invest in alarm systems and monitoring. Sarah also deals with the renovation of the property and thus attract prying eyes of its employee, Jonah a handsome worker who has the nerve to swim in their pool and make advances on her. But Jonah is not just an employee, he informs his older brother Elias about the wealth living of husbands Miler. They team up with a few more people and barge one day over the house and threatens with death if they do not open the safe. Their daughter went to a party this time but she comes home soon and without knowing what their parents pass through, she joins their torment. Although Kyle worries about his life and his family, he decides to take action against thieves and not open the safe but his trust in Sarah is questioned when she supposedly had an affair with their employee Jonah.

The movie does not live up to expectations although playing two great names of cinema. It is predictable from start to finish, with some annoying scenes with screams and fights and none of the characters doesn't look credible in the role that they play.

An actual good Cage performance, that we have forgotten about after over a decade of utter dreck. I will say at the time, this film was that very dreck. He has been doing these kind of performances, one after another since 2011, but when I go back and see Trespass, I wonder why? He did it all perfectly here, to where the others seem like imitation and are coming up shorter. That is because creating a character rings differently than just running through a 'mad man' shtick he repeats. I think it is because of Joel Schumacher. He was a real actors director, a master director who worked in the confines of mainstream film. Rediscovering his work from ground up from the 1980s, I see his mainstream films in a new light, from Phone Booth, to this, he never lost that artistry, even if it came in more outrageous packages.

Terrible direction, terrible script, and terrible performances from actors who should have known better. It shouldn't surprise, but to see actors of the caliber of Cage and Kidman in entirely predictable, f-bomb-strewn fare like this is quite dispiriting. But obviously, $$$ trumps raw talent (Cage) and taste (Kidman) every time. I suppose it always has in Hollywood. Both of these wonderful actors have made some wonderful, even amazing films. This isn't one of them.

Trespass is the kind of home invasion film in which you actually hope that the entire family will be slaughtered.

Are they? You'll have to see for yourself.

So, this is what's meant by "A Joel Schumacher Film"? Ugh.

However, nice pool.

"Trespass" (2011) isn't a bad movie – it's competently made. There's good acting all around, especially from the incomparable Nicole Kidman.

It's just too goddam sad and depressing at times (with little emotional payoff afterward) to be extremely enjoyable. The pacing also seems way off. There are several times you think the movie is over, and then more emotionally draining violence against unarmed victims ensues. That's kinda not a good thing here. The film also suffers a little in comparison with the terrifying recent horror film, "The Strangers" (2008).

I'd give "Trespass" a 6 out of 10.

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The real estate agent Kyle Miller (Nicolas Cage), his wife Sarah (Nicole Kidman) and their teenage daughter Avery (Liana Liberato) live in a fancy dream house. Out of the blue, four violent hooded thieves break in their house and hold the family hostage expecting to get money and diamonds from the safe, in a tragic night of terror.

The Spaniard-French "Secuestrados" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1629377/) is a brutal and bleak combination of "The Desperate Hours" and "Funny Games". I am a big fan of Joel Schumacher and Nicolas Cage, but unfortunately I have to recognize that they both are decadent.

"Trespass" is an awful and dull remake of "Secuestrados". Instead of the brutally graphic and realistic home invasion with the family man needing to withdraw money from the family bank accounts of the European film, this remake shows annoying screaming and crying with the usual unrealistic exaggeration and lame heroism of the American movies, with diamonds and a huge amount. My vote is one (awful).

Title (Brazil): "Reféns" ("Hostages")

This movie was okay, i really only watched it because of Cam, whom was the character of Jonah. He was pretty good but there should've been a bit more story line to it. It's almost cliché that he used to work for them and knew they were rich. Defiantly has happened a lot of times i'm guessing. I would've rather him try to be with his Nicole kidman's daughter. I don't know why but it would seem more interesting - besides they seem more realistic not this 28 year old dude trying to get a married woman, seems too easy. I did like the criminals though, it seems a bit more realistic, problems - fights and betrayal, seemed like a normal hit man kind of thing. It's almost weird how Cage's character knew his wife was having an affair, well that's what i got from it. overall i was there for Cam. So i guess it was okay.

I am stunned that there was an actual screen writing credit. The script meanders all over the place and never really gets anywhere interesting. None of the characters are likable enough to garner much concern. Fully understanding that is stars Nick Cage, it is over acted and underwritten. The characters are so unsympathetic that you kind of hope that they will not make to the end of the film. The characters switch allegiance so quickly, it is nearly impossible to keep track of who is on what side at any given moment. The weak plot wanders through the film like the Mississippi and leaves nothing but a build up of silt in it's wake. The story is so improbable, it is impossible to suspend enough belief to settle into the film. Save the 2 hours of your life for watching paint dry. It will be more satisfying.

Don't know why this was put into the rubbish bin by people. Sure, it is no masterpiece, and nothing original, but movies are supposed to entertain and it does exactly that.

I watched this with my missus when our first choice of a film did not work. but glad to see it instead.

Almost all takes place in one location, but delivers. Do not get disheartened by the low ratings and give a chance when in mood. you won't be disappointed.

Normally not keen on mr Cage, but he is rather superb here. Cannot decide whether the lady was really nicole kidman, or someone else, though. She looked very thin. and much older than i remembered.

A home-invasion flick that grabs viewers by the throat and only stops squeezing long enough to wipe sweat from its palms...