Life of Crime

Decent Leonard flick. Impossible to fully separate from the later goings-on in Jackie Brown (which is an infinitely superior film in scope and execution) but it has many really solid moments, usually involving either Hawkes or Mos Def as Louis Gara and Ordell Robbie. It just never adds up to an entirely great piece of filmmaking. It looks good, it's entertaining in spurts, but it never takes that necessary step beyond a quirky crime movie that the best of Leonard tends to do.

Entertaining enough because of the cast but this falls short as a comedy yet fails to create any sense of realism or tension to give it weight as a serious piece.

Life of Crime is an almost punishing watch. Any semblance of fun or an interesting plot is lost in the yellow filter, out-off-place soundtrack, and bland performances. Robbins wasn't allowed to be funny and Hawkes is so bland, I spent most of his screen-time wondering whether he was an alter-ego of Sean Penn. A few humorous moments, but the punchline ending is wasted on this uninvolved film. Truthfully, it'll probably be forgotten by tomorrow.

Life of Crime is a dull movie that only works if you think that it's supposed to represent the mundanity that comes from working as a criminal. It involves a lot of waiting around, doing nothing but talking about little of importance. That is what we see in this movie. The actors were fine but were given little to do. It has a charming opening and there's a bit of dark humor thrown in every now and then, but it doesn't add up to anything beyond a minor distraction that you won't remember.

An average caper film that could have been a lot better. Something was missing.

Director Schechter is a total hack. "How can I boost my insignificant career? I know... adapt an Elmore Leonard novel!". Sorry. But no. The film suffers muddled direction with poor execution of the few humorous moments, and lacks any suspense or dramatic tension. The competant cast are directed into forgettable performances with only Isla Fisher really popping in her role. All in all, a cute concept that could've fun, but confused and generic direction and writing by Schechter fail it totally.

Decent.

Has some potential, but the entire movie seems to be tone-deaf from the first minute to the last. The second act is pretty enjoyable, but the first act is very hard to get into, and the third act is just so, so very stupid. It tries very hard to be a comedy, but it 1) just isn't funny, and 2) ruins its credibility in the moments where we're supposed to take it seriously.

This one really peters out by the end. Feels like winding up the first season of a TV show when you know there's going to be a second. I haven't read this book, but I have read Rum Punch in which Ordell Robbie is a great character. Here he has nothing to do despite the screentime.

Fairly generic crime-comedy film which nonetheless keeps the attention of the viewer (due to Elmore Leonard's writing) and makes for some good laughs. Schechter does well to avoid trying to be too clever in making a film of this genre (so many filmmakers lack the self-restraint to let the story speak for itself when it comes to crime-comedies). As with every film I've seen him in, Mos Def is so very likeable!