Hooked

Rating: 8/10 (9 July 2009)

I did not know a lot about the history before watching this, though I understand that this is highly accurate, with a few liberties taken for creative license. I have a great degree of respect for Mann's work... apart from obviously this one, I've watched Last of the Mohicans, Miami Vice, Collateral and, by far the one most comparable to this, Heat. The endings of the latter two have been disappointing, and while it may not be completely perfect, the final portion of this is considerably less anti-climactic and unfulfilling than that of those. However, the Pacino/De Niro piece does get something completely right in an area where this one stumbles: The amount of characters is spot-on, and we get proper insight to the motivations and personalities of them, we get to know them. This one has too many, and as a direct result, not everyone gets to stand out as an individual. Worse still, at points, you'll find yourself forgetting who this or that guy is, and what side they're on. Each of them is credible, as is the background that we do get. The writing is excellent. Dialog and script are solid. Every single acting performance is marvelous, Depp is charming and sympathetic without being Orlando Bloom-y, and Bale gets to use subtle hints. One can definitely tell this is directed by Michael... the level of detail is incredible, and the action is awesome(and doesn't divert the attention from the plot), realistic and genuinely exciting. This does not feel like a Hollywood flick. He also makes you care about the people, if this is not his strongest in that regard. You can also see that this is recent, with the hand-held cinematography and such, but I enjoyed it(and the fact that, done right, it can be rather effective should not be neglected, simply because it can be argued to be an annoying current fad). This is entertaining and, at times, quite suspenseful. It's fast-paced, and you do have to be ready to pick up on a good bit of information to follow it completely. The editing is sharp. All of the music is well-chosen and fitting. This evokes the 30's feeling and mood well, it doesn't try to "update" it. There is bloody violence, with a bit of language, and sexuality that is never graphic. None of this is gratuitous. I recommend this warmly to anyone who likes film depictions of the period and its criminals. 8/10