Going In Style - directed by Zach Braff
Michael Caine's career is an endless source of fascination for me.
After impressing in the excellent 1964 movie "Zulu" he followed up with "The Ipcress File" and "Alfie" and hey presto - he is the great white hope of British cinema.
Then the seventies and eighties arrived and Caine is making utter dross like "The Island", "The Hand", "Blame it on Rio" and "Jaws: The Revenge".
Eventually he started making really good movies again but it is amazing to me that someone so well known and so talented made so many bad choices for so long.
It is however what I think he has done with this film.
Directed by Zach Braff (JD from the tv show "Scrubs") this is effectively a remake of the 1979 George Burns film of the same name.
Three aging men angry that their bank and their employer are ripping them off out of their pensions and their homes decide to seek revenge by way of a good old fashioned bank heist.
It's been done many times because it is a great premise allowing for suspense, humour and lighthearted fun.
Toss in three much loved, veteran performers in the forms of Caine, Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin and you should be onto a winner.
Well, this is not a terrible movie but it is nowhere near as good as you would hope it is given those lead actors.
There is something off about this film that prevents it from being recommendable as anything more than bit of fun if you have nothing else to see or do.
There is an oft used line that is intended to be endearing but just doesn't work.
'Young man' is used as a nickname for and by each of the three 80+ year old leads several times throughout the movie.
Also by Joey King - Caine's on-screen Granddaughter.
This character has absolutely no bearing on the plot and simply doesn't need to exist.
It is a common problem that stems not only from the thin premise but the manner in which the story is told.
This kind of movie is all about the heist.
Whether it is an Ocean's 11 movie, "Entrapment", "Inside Man" or even Caine's own "The Italian Job" the core of the fun should always be in the pulling off of the job at the centre of the plot.
In the case of "Going Out In Style" the writers seem to have forgotten this.
I wonder if the casting was done before the final script because the end result feels like the filmmakers figured they could just coast and let the amazing trio of lead actors get their movie where it needed to go.
Every time I watch any of the Nolan Batman movies in which Freeman and Caine both star I wish that someone would give the pair a movie to do together- they seem like a great match up.
But as much as I love Caine, Freeman and Arkin they cannot do everything on their own.
Good lines, characters and an interesting plot are still required.
In truth this movie didn't need to do too much too well to work at least enough to be a fun diversion.
The main issue for me is that the script blows all of the strengths it had going for it.
The bank job preparation is over in mere minutes.
Bad enough that the fun in seeing how the plan comes together is not shown but add in that this is the section in which the great John Ortiz appears most and it is a squandered opportunity.
Then the heist itself happens and is pretty damned flat too.
Instead of using this as the action/suspense centrepiece director Braff gets it over with as fast as he can and then focuses on the rather inept FBI agents trying to nab the suspects.
Everything feels rushed and a lot of the fun is sacrificed as a result.
Even the romance between Arkin and Ann-Margret which looked to be a Grumpy Old Men level bit of suggestiveness doesn't really work.
Ultimately what you have is a comedy devoid of laughs and a heist movie that treats the central job as an afterthought.
Every appearance from Christopher Lloyd as an aging probably Alzheimer's ridden character made me cringe.
It really is a one-joke flick based on the idea that old guys who forget stuff and can't move very fast are hilarious.
Even with the expectation that this might be a throwaway bit of fun I was disappointed.
RATING: 71 / 100
CONCLUSION: A no-brainer given the premise and the great cast this one is flat and unfunny. The actors look like they enjoyed making the film much more than I enjoyed watching it.
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Alan Arkin, Ann-Margret, Joey King, Christopher lloyd, Peter Serafinowicz, Matt Dillon, Maria Dizzia, John Ortiz, Kenan Thompson, Katlyn Carlson, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Gina Diaz, Josh Pais
Screenplay: Theodore Melfi
Music Score by: Rob Simonsen
Cinematography: Rodney Charters
Edited by: Myron I. Kerstein
Running Time: 96 minutes
Language: English
Rated: M - Profanity
Running Time: 96 minutes
Language: English
Rated: M - Profanity
Michael Caine's career is an endless source of fascination for me.
After impressing in the excellent 1964 movie "Zulu" he followed up with "The Ipcress File" and "Alfie" and hey presto - he is the great white hope of British cinema.
Then the seventies and eighties arrived and Caine is making utter dross like "The Island", "The Hand", "Blame it on Rio" and "Jaws: The Revenge".
Eventually he started making really good movies again but it is amazing to me that someone so well known and so talented made so many bad choices for so long.
It is however what I think he has done with this film.
Directed by Zach Braff (JD from the tv show "Scrubs") this is effectively a remake of the 1979 George Burns film of the same name.
Three aging men angry that their bank and their employer are ripping them off out of their pensions and their homes decide to seek revenge by way of a good old fashioned bank heist.
It's been done many times because it is a great premise allowing for suspense, humour and lighthearted fun.
Toss in three much loved, veteran performers in the forms of Caine, Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin and you should be onto a winner.
Well, this is not a terrible movie but it is nowhere near as good as you would hope it is given those lead actors.
 |
| Caine, Freeman, Arkin, Lloyd and Ann-Margret |
There is an oft used line that is intended to be endearing but just doesn't work.
'Young man' is used as a nickname for and by each of the three 80+ year old leads several times throughout the movie.
Also by Joey King - Caine's on-screen Granddaughter.
This character has absolutely no bearing on the plot and simply doesn't need to exist.
It is a common problem that stems not only from the thin premise but the manner in which the story is told.
This kind of movie is all about the heist.
Whether it is an Ocean's 11 movie, "Entrapment", "Inside Man" or even Caine's own "The Italian Job" the core of the fun should always be in the pulling off of the job at the centre of the plot.
In the case of "Going Out In Style" the writers seem to have forgotten this.
I wonder if the casting was done before the final script because the end result feels like the filmmakers figured they could just coast and let the amazing trio of lead actors get their movie where it needed to go.
Every time I watch any of the Nolan Batman movies in which Freeman and Caine both star I wish that someone would give the pair a movie to do together- they seem like a great match up.
But as much as I love Caine, Freeman and Arkin they cannot do everything on their own.
Good lines, characters and an interesting plot are still required.
 |
| Going In Style is a Heist Comedy without much of either |
The main issue for me is that the script blows all of the strengths it had going for it.
The bank job preparation is over in mere minutes.
Bad enough that the fun in seeing how the plan comes together is not shown but add in that this is the section in which the great John Ortiz appears most and it is a squandered opportunity.
Then the heist itself happens and is pretty damned flat too.
Instead of using this as the action/suspense centrepiece director Braff gets it over with as fast as he can and then focuses on the rather inept FBI agents trying to nab the suspects.
Everything feels rushed and a lot of the fun is sacrificed as a result.
Even the romance between Arkin and Ann-Margret which looked to be a Grumpy Old Men level bit of suggestiveness doesn't really work.
Ultimately what you have is a comedy devoid of laughs and a heist movie that treats the central job as an afterthought.
Every appearance from Christopher Lloyd as an aging probably Alzheimer's ridden character made me cringe.
It really is a one-joke flick based on the idea that old guys who forget stuff and can't move very fast are hilarious.
Even with the expectation that this might be a throwaway bit of fun I was disappointed.
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