|
|
|
Criminal Activities
R2 - United Kingdom - Image Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Matthew Crossman (1st March 2016). |
|
The Film
 Zach (Michael Pitt), Noah (Dan Stevens), Warren (Christopher Abbott), and Bryce (Rob Brown) meet up in a bar after attending the funeral of their mutual friend Matthew (Chris Haley). During conversation Bryce mentions that he knows someone who has a substantial amount of stock shares that he wants to part with for a knock down price of $200,000. The potential of this stock could raise ten fold but unfortunately three of the group have no money. Noah, however, tells his friends that he can get the money and that they can pay him back once the stock prices rise (plus interest, of course.) With that the four friends go into business together and purchase the stock. One month later and the CEO of the company that the four friends have bought stock in is arrested and now the shares are worthless. Unbeknown to Zach, Warren and Bryce is that Noah borrowed the initial $200,000 from mob boss Eddie (John Travolta) whom is now concerned that he may not get his money back. Eddie makes a proposal to the four friends. Eddie has been drawn into a dispute with a local drug dealer named Tyrone Flemmings (Anaias Dixon). Eddie’s brother in law has been running up a tab with Tyrone and when he could not pay Tyrone arranges for Eddie’s Niece to be kidnapped until the debt has been re-paid. What Eddie wants the four friends to do is kidnap Tyrone’s brother Marques and hold him for twenty four hours whilst Eddie arranges a swap, Marques for his Niece. With no options left the four agree and kidnap Marques, but what they did not know is that Marques is the nephew of a big time gangster and has put out a two million dollar reward for Marques safe return. The four men are now in a quandary in that if they do not follow through with Eddie’s instructions he will kill them and soon or later there is a good chance that Marques people will do the same. However, not everyone within this drama is who they seem to be. The initial feeling is that this smart, witty gangster movie is about fifteen years behind the times. With the inclusion of John Travolta in the cast one cannot help but make comparisons to films by Tarantino and movies and books by Elmore Leonard. Criminal Activities has a vibe that resonates strongly with films like ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘Get Shorty’ and for the most part stands up well when compared to those two, excellent films. ‘Criminal Activities’ is the directorial debut of Jackie Earle Haley (who also plays Eddie’s right hand man Gerry in the movie) and it’s an assured debut. The script by Robert Lowell is on the whole very good despite one or two plot holes towards the scripts convoluted finale but overall it’s very strong. There is one scene in particular when Gerry is telling someone a story about how he got a scar on his ear and that scene alone is worth recommending the film. The way that particular story plays out is worthy of being in a Tarantino or Scorsese movie. Travolta gets most of the best lines. His character riffs on anything from Macbeth to Quantum Physics. Travolta certainly knows how to deliver a clever line of dialogue even if it looks like he can no longer move his face due to the plethora of botox injections he must have sustained through the years. However, the best dialogue, and possibly the best performance in the film goes to Edi Gathegi playing the kidnap victim Marques. Ninety percent of Edi’s screen time is spent taped to a chair and yet his dialogue is sassy, witty and urbane and is delivered as such. The denouement of the film has a ‘Usual Suspects’ feel to it and for the most part plays it straight with the viewer although it’s best not to think too much about the fate of Zach’s character as there seems to be a rather sizeable plot hole there. Having said that this is not enough to derail a rather fun way to spend an evening.
Video
The film is presented in the original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 (anamorphic). The picture quality is excellent throughout. Details are sharp and clear in fact at times they seem a little too clear as it looks like John Travolta is wearing a waxwork Travolta mask. Much of the film is shot at night but even during the darkened scenes no details are lost. This being a recently made film I would not expect anything less but I have seen recent films have ham fisted transfers in the past but thankfully that is not the case with ‘Criminal Activities’.
Audio
The viewer has two choices of how to listen to the film. These are; English Dolby Digital 5.1 or English Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0. The 5.1 mix is the way to go of course, assuming you have the set up. There is a frequent use of bombastic musical cues throughout the film and only in one instance did it slightly over power the dialogue. Otherwise the soundtrack is excellent especially in the presentation of gunfire which comes through the speakers in a meaty and powerful way. There are English (HoH) subtitles also available on the disc.
Extras
Q+A With John Travolta and Jackie Earle Haley (8.18) - This was clearly filmed at the press junket for ‘Criminal Activities’ and as you would expect both men were lavish in their praise for the cast, crew, script and each other. No great revelations are forthcoming but it’s still nice to have it on the disc. Deleted Scene A (1.37) - This scene is of Marques being tired back into his chair after being taken to the toilet and making the four friends an offer to let him go in exchange for Marques forgetting all about the kidnapping. Deleted Scene B (0.50) This a brief scene the following morning after the kidnapping with Noah complaining about Warren getting his coffee order wrong. Neither scene adds anything significant to the movie and was rightly exorcised from the final cut of the film. Picture Gallery (1.00) - Presented here is a slideshow picture gallery of stills taken during the making of the film and from behind the scenes.
Overall
‘Criminal Activities’ is a smart, witty, enjoyable gangster romp that whilst adding nothing new to the genre is still a clever entry. The cast are uniformly excellent with Travolta as Eddie and Gathegi as Marques shining brightest but in truth everyone puts in a shift. The script often crackles with some superb scenes and the direction from debutant Jackie Earle Haley is assured and never intrusive. Whilst ‘Criminal Activities’ will not gone down in movie history as a classic it’s still a pretty good film and well worth watching.
|
|||||
|