 |
| STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED |
| Unmissable |
|
| Excellent |
|
| Good |
|
| Poor |
|
| Tragic |
|
|
| FILM DETAILS | Certificate
12A | | Cast
Owen Wilson
Charlie Sheen
Morgan Freeman
Gary Sinise
Sara Foster. | | Directors
George Armitage. | | Screenwriters
George Armitage
Elmore Leonard
Sebastian Gutierrez. | | Running Time
0 minutes |
|
|
|
The Big Bounce
Owen Wilson stars as a Hawaiian surfer / con man in this Elmore Leonard adaptation.
Plot
Wilson plays surfer / con man Jack Ryan, who gets a job with ailing judge Walter Crewes (Freeman) in Hawaii. This brings him into contact with a mysterious woman (Foster) and her lover, a real estate tycoon (Sinese). Ryan finally has to choose between the girl, the money and doing the right thing. Review
Judging by Out Of Sight and Get Shorty, it seems that a hip stylistic approach is key to transferring Elmore Leonard successfully to the screen. Armitage obviously thinks so; hence this lackadaisical, jazzy updating of a Leonard thriller first filmed - very badly - in 1969.
Sensibly, this version ditches the original's dreary Detroit for Hawaii, where surf dude grifter Wilson pitches up one step ahead of the law, only to embroil himself in a who's-scamming-who scenario with local judge Freeman, babelicious Foster, odious property developer Sinise and his two dunderhead heavies, Jones and Sheen. You could carbon-date the plot, but Owen is as watchable as ever, as is Freeman in his role of chilled-out elder statesman.
It's sexy, offbeat fun for the most part, but it's way too laid-back for its own good and, in the end, obstinately refuses to be anything more than the sum of its highly promising parts.
Verdict
It's sexy, offbeat fun for the most part, but it's way too laid-back for its own good and, in the end, obstinately refuses to be anything more than the sum of its highly promising parts.
Reviewed by Simon Braund
Write Your Review
To write your review please login or register.
|
|
|
|
