Botched is a pretty good/kind of strange mash up style film. While there's no crazy twist or anything like that, the main concept of the film is out there enough that I don't really feel like spoiling it. If you know how it's going to go, you'll probably miss out on a lot of what Botched has to offer. I mean, it isn't a must-see or anything, but it's pretty fun. So sorry if this entry is a little vague - I don't want to be a party pooper.
Botched stars Stephen Dorff as Ritchie, a thief who is somehow in debt to the Russian Mafia. The film kicks off with a decent set piece where a big job he's a part of is flubbed, through no fault of his own. But the Russian Mafia is not known for their forgiveness, so to make up for this botched (see!) job he is assigned an even more dangerous task. He has to go to Moscow and steal a priceless heirloom from a wealthy family in the penthouse of a large (and well protected) building. Even worse, he's teamed up with two inept strangers to pull it off... a hothead wannabe big shot and his easily frightened brother. The big job doesn't go as planned, and the trio ends up with a group of hostages, stranded on a mysteriously unmarked floor in the building. And then some horror movie stuff happens... I'll leave it at that.
You get some pretty decent gore once the shit goes down, and some decently-staged action too. But it's all shot in a "isn't this kind of ridiculous" way, so that there isn't really an awful lot of drama or tension. Botched is kind of an action/horror/comedy, and the tone stays pretty light throughout. But black comedy would be a good way to describe it - there is still a significant amount of blood and guts, so I certainly wouldn't suggest it to non-horror fans.
It's a very well shot/staged film too, considering the bulk of it takes place on one floor of a building. The action is never very repetitive, and you get a good idea of where the characters are in relation to each other. This is especially important in a film like this, where a great deal of the action revolves around people hiding from each other in rooms, or chasing each other around. Even though there's a lot going on, you never feel disoriented as a viewer.
Stephen Dorff is good as Ritchie - it's pretty clearly one of those roles where he's a bad guy (robber) that is clearly the hero. He even goes out of his way to say how he won't kill anyone - he's only there to steal things. So he's the thief with a heart of gold. But Dorff is really quite charming here, and is believable in the action-side of things too.
There are certain things in the plot that you just kind of have to roll with, and the characters are pretty unrealistic and one-note. But that's usually par for the course with movies like this that don't take themselves too seriously. Once you find out where this ride is heading, you'll either be on board or, uh, bored for the next hour. But still, even if you don't like the comedic vibe of the film, it's fast-paced and well-shot.
I would recommend this film.
No comments:
Post a Comment