Batman Arkham Knight Review (Revisited)

Well, its yet again revisitation time for one of my previous posts and the post in question is my original review of the action video game, Batman: Arkham Knight and I decided to revisit because I currently replaying it again.

So, I figured I would update my review with additional stuff and thoughts on the game some 4 years after its initial release and it also just happens to be Halloween today, so I figured reviewing a Batman game is not a bad choice!

So, with that said, let's suit up and take another look at Arkham Knight....

STORY

So the story begins with Gotham city being evacuated after the game main's villain, Scarecrow (voiced by John Noble) intends to launch his new fear toxin on Gotham.  Batman in an effort to stop Scarecrow rescues Poison Ivy from a secret Scarecrow hideout as she refused to join in on the villain's plan.  Batman also recruits the help of his technical aide, the wheelchair bound Oracle (Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara Gordon) who identifies Ace chemicals as the source of Scarecrow's toxin, which Batman infiltrates and he confronts Scarecrow.  However Scarecrow reveals that he has captured Oracle and he then turns the whole building into a toxin bomb which overwhelms Batman with the toxin.  As a result of exposure to the toxin, Batman sees a projection of the Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill) which taunts Batman throughout the game.

Batman then meets with Gordon and tells him that Barbara has been captured and she had been working with Batman, which leaves Gordon outraged and he storms off to try and find Scarecrow.  Batman then soon learns that Scarecrow had recruited businessman, Simon Stagg to build a massive dispersal device called the cloudburst, which Scarecrow intends to use to spread the toxin throughout the city.  Batman interrogates Stagg and then confronts Scarecrow onboard Stagg's airship but Scarecrow again escapes by temporarily using the toxin to take control of the Joker's persona over Batman.  Batman soon recovers and then locates Scarecrow's hideout where Oracle is being held trapped inside an enclosed room, he disperses toxin into the room which torments Oracle and forces her to commit suicide, leaving Batman devastated.  Batman then vows to find and stop Scarecrow once and for all in carrying out his evil plan......

THOUGHTS

As a continuation of the series, Batman Arkham Knight is a very enjoyable and solid game which has plenty going for it and it makes up for the somewhat uneven Arkham Origins, which was more to do with Batman in his early days when he was known morely as a vigilante wanted by the police.  But here we get back to the essentials of the series where Batman is established as the Dark Knight and it features a good mix of its familiar foes and plenty of good action aswell as a intriguing plot, which features one or two twists.

GAMEPLAY 

As for the gameplay itself, well it follows pretty much the same formula as the previous games with Batman being able to travel freely throughout the vast environments of Gotham city.

And this time around however there is a new inclusion in Batman's method of travel as you know get to ride in the Batmobile, which is pretty cool in itself and it appears a pretty armoured tank-esque car, which kind also transform itself into a battle mode where Batman can fire canon guns and missiles at its targets as you will frequently up again remotely controlled enemy tank drones.  The Batmobile also can be used to fire a line launcher to grapple with hooks of structures to creates ramps or open doors.  The Batmobile also has an overdrive feature which gives the mobile a speed boost to jump over bigger distances and is handy in certain moments.    

The gameplay also features many of the previous elements that appeared in the former games that include the grapnel gun, line launcher, remote hacking device, explosive gel, batarangs, aswell the disruptor.  Batman also has his usual detective vision which he uses to scan areas for clues or to detect how many enemies maybe in an area and their condition and whether they are armed or not.  A new device however is the voice synthesizer which Batman can use to imitate the voice of other characters and is used in the game's story when Batman uses it to imitate Harley Quinn's voice.  And regarding some new moves, Batman can also in addition to his ability to dive bomb while flying through the air he can when equipped with his lighter batsuit fire his grapnel grun and use a speedboost so he can travel fast through the air and quicker over larger distances, which is pretty handy in itself. 

As for the combat system the game again is pretty much similar as before but there are also some new enhanced features that include the FEAR takedown in which Batman can take down multiple enemies at once by targetting them one after another but is only effective if he remains undetected.  Batman can also perform the usual combo moves and critical strikes aswell perform silent takedowns on single enemies or even inverted takedowns where Batman can take out an enemy by hanging from above.  Also as usual as Batman fights he gains more experience points (XP) which gains him access to various upgrades that could for be weapons, combat or even the Batmobile.   

The game also features not just the story mode it also incorporates a series of side missions aswell as Batman is fed news by Alfred or other sources of other crimes happening in Gotham that are known as "Most wanted" and feature a variety of Batman's most notable enemies particularly the Riddler and Two-Face. 

GRAPHICS, MUSIC AND VOICE ACTING

As for the game's graphics they are excellent and on the PS4 where you see just how rich and detailed the game's environments are.  The character models however by today's standards do look a bit dated but they are still pretty good.  But Gotham city is what stands out most and it looks superb and its expansive environment remains one of the game's most impressive aspects especially as Batman travels through the skies over the rooftops.

There were however of course technical issues with the PC version of the game on its initial release, so I would probably suggest getting it on console for PS4 or Xbox one would be a better move, although I'd imagine that the issues with the PC version are hopefully ironed out by now.

As for the game's music it features another fine score by Nick Arundel, who had previously worked on Arkham Asylum and Arkham City and this time he is aided by Ron Fish and David Buckley.  The score however does not stand out as well as Arundel's score for Arkham city, which for me remains one of the very best video game scores out there but its still worth a listen although I wouldn't really want to listen to it as a stand alone soundtrack it works better within the game itself.

And lastly regarding the voice acting well its excellent as you would expect and it sees the welcome return of Kevin Conroy in the role of Batman and for me vocally he is the best man for the job as Troy Baker who did the voice in Arkahm Origins didn't quite fit the bill.  It also sees the return of Mark Hamill in his role as the Joker and the two of them could almost be said to be inseparable as Conroy he was not so keen to return to the voice role but he got onboard when he heard Hamill was cast and together these two are the standouts in the cast.

But the voice acting cast features some other fine performances particularly Jonathan Banks (most well known as Mike from Breaking Bad) as Comissioner Gordon and John Noble who provides a chilling vocal performance as Scarecrow.  Troy Baker also provides some good voice work in various roles such as The Riddler, Two-Face and the Arkham Knight and Ashley Greene (who is pretty hot in real life!) as Oracle/Barbara Gordon.

FLAWS (Warning: this section may refer to spoilers!)

As for the Arkham Knight's flaws.....well yeah OK it has some and for starters I think one of the game's biggest problems is to do with the Batmobile and its not so much the Batmobile itself but the near endless tank drone battles Batman get's drawn into throughout the game.  And to be fair to start I didn't really mind them but its not long before they start to become really tedious particularly when the Arkham knight unleashes the Cobra tanks which can destroy the Batmobile easily with a few hits and you have to target them from behind to destroy them.

In fact further to that point it seems pretty daft that such big powerful tanks would still have one major weakness such as a vulnerable port in its rear side, which sort of reminds me of a very popular sci-fi movie from the 70's! And to top that off its funny how Batman can destroy them with one clean hit from the Batmobile's canon which makes it quite convenient in that respect although its a pain in the ass trying to target them accurately as they turn corners it can be easy to lose track of the target.  So basically I think tanks and Batman are not a good mix and I don't really see the point of these tank drones being in the game other than giving target fodder for the armoured Batmobile. 

Another issue I have with the game is that while the main story campaign is very good it also feels just a bit too long and drawn out as Batman really is sent one big wild goose chase after another to try and locate and finally take down Scarecrow.  And the game does that usual thing of setting things up like you can take out the game's main villain quite early on when in fact its all just a deception and you have to go through a whole series of missions, side-missions, fights, battles and traps before you get to finally end it all!  And this is definitely true of the game's ending, which takes AGES to complete! So personally I think the game could have benefited from having trimmed the length of the campaign a little to keep it tighter but at the end of the day the game from that point of view still does offer good value for money.

I also think that perhaps the game also overwhelms the player with such a vast variety of different moves, new features and upgrades that you are most likely not to going to use most of them especially as I usually find myself tapping the usual buttons for combat and takedowns! ;-)  These new features are bound to be of some use but in the end the game seems to bombard you with so many options you are surely never going to use them all!  In the end its a game that packs in so much and in fact maybe just a bit too much.

There are also some very frustrating moments in the game, such as the one where near the end (SPOILER!) where Batman takes down Scarecrow's thugs, who are trying to hack into the GCPD's systems and there are LOADS of them yet Batman is expected to take them down on his own! The guy has Nightwing as one of his sidekicks, who could have easily helped him out here but nope, Batman always insists on doing things solo! So, yeah there are times where the odds are really stacked overwhelmingly against Batman but the game still insists (as does Bats) that it all has to be done on his own!

Another issue was to do with some of the game's dialogue as it get's a bit tiring and repetitive, especially regarding the Arkham Knight as he keeps taunting and berating Batman at every turn and shouting the same lines over and over such as "Face me, you coward!" and "Come out and fight me!!". Not only that but the Arkham Knight towards the end even get's the Scarecrow's goat up a bit as he keeps telling the Arkham Knight to back off Batman as he will be dealt with in good time but AK ignores him and keeps persisting with his attempts to kill Bats.

I felt also that the ending of the game really marginalises its secondary protagonist, who the game is named after, the Arkham Knight as he doesn't really bother reappearing till the very end and when he does its a fleeting moment! So, I really felt that they didn't handle the Arkham Knight's character arc all that well in the end as there is no sense of closure or finality to it.

There are also some very frustrating moments in the game that leave the player second guessing where they are to go next as quite often you can wander around places forever trying to follow the directional HUD arrows and metre gauge showing the distance to your next objective but they aren't always clear as to where they lead! And this happened several times throughout the game for me, especially in one sequence where I was trying to locate one of the key characters (Stagg) onboard one of the airships only to eventually find out I was on the wrong ship as there are two! Further to this, you sometimes get some audio cues from Batman telling what he must do next but they are at times they are all too vague and not helpful and its not long before you have to look at a Youtube walkthrough video to suss it out!

WARNING: SPOILER OF SORTS COMING UP!

And last of all, I had a big issue with the ending of the game (well one of them as there are three possible endings if you go for 100% completion) which could be the standard one if you haven't completed the game 100% by doing all the side missions. And the problem I have with it is that on the ending I got, Batman tells Alfred to initiate a protocol called "Nightfall" in order to protect his family and friends but it is never explained what this protocol actually is! So, I'm guessing you would need to go through the massive and probably rather tedious task of completing the game 100% to fully understand what this "Nightfall" protocol actually is! So, again the game's vagueness here is another frustrating flaw of the game for me.  

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So to sum up Batman Arkham Knight is very enjoyable and solid entry in the Batman video game franchise, it features plenty of good combat action and getting to use the Batmobile at last is pretty cool it has to be said.  The graphics are also excellent and its features a fine score aswell as some excellent voice acting from its cast particularly Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as Batman and the Joker respectively.

The game does have some faults that are mainly to do with its tedious tank drone battles and also that the game's main campaign is just a bit too long winded and it begins to wear out its welcome near the end. However if you are willing to forgive all that then this is still one game that is certainly worth checking out.

So, that's it for now folks and I will be back soon with another post.

Till then have a happy Halloween!

Whiplash Review "Were you rushing or were you dragging?"

Right, so its time for a new review on this blog at last with NEW content (yep unreal I know!) and the subject of the post is the critically acclaimed musical drama, Whiplash starring JK Simmons as a ruthless band leader and an ambitious drum student played by Miles Teller.

This film caught my eye after watching the Youtuber, Rick Beato, who is a music tutor himself and he slated the film for what he saw as being cringing and inaccurate. And from the clips he showed of the trailer, I was intrigued by the film itself, so fancied giving it a go. 

So, this film has received tremendous praise from film critics but has met with alot of criticism from professional musicians and in particularly music tutors, so it has created something of a divide since its release 2014.

So, with that said let's take a look at this film and see how it all stacks up.

And yep the usual warning is coming up...

SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY

So, the story follows a young ambitious jazz drum student, Andrew Nieman (Miles Teller) who is studying at the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory in New York City. One night at the school while Andrew rehearses, he catches the attention of Terence Fletcher (J.K Simmons) who is a renowned instructor at the conservatory and he asks Andrew if he will play as an alternate drummer in his studio band.

Andrew however soon finds out that Fletcher's methods of teaching are pretty ruthless as he brutally berates his students frequently by throwing insults at them whenever they make a mistake and he even dismisses one of them for allegedly being out of tune. Andrew soon also comes under fire from Fletcher as he begins to play as an alternate for the track "Whiplash" by Hank Levy and Fletcher continually pulls him up for poor timing on the track, which boils up to the point of Fletcher throwing a chair at Andrew, yelling at him and even slapping him for not keeping up the tempo.

Andrew meanwhile also begins dating a girl, Nicole (Melissa Benoist) who works as a movie theatre concessionist. However, its not long before Andrew's obsession with his drumming takes over and decides to make a pre-emptive strike to end their relationship as he tells Nicole that she would be ultimatley holding him back from progressing with his career as a drummer.

Sometime later, Fletcher's class attend a jazz competition, where Andrew is still an alternate for the core drummer of the band, Carl (Nate Lang). During a break, Andrew loses Carl's music sheets, which he cannot play without, so Andrew volunteers to play instead as he tells Fletcher he has studied the notes of "Whiplash" thoroughly and can play the track to which Fletcher agrees to. Andrew then goes on to successfully play the track for the band and he is soon promoted to core drummer.

However its not all plain sailing for Andrew as Fletcher recruits another drummer into the band, Connolly (Austin Towell) who is the core drummer in Andrew's former band group, which angers Flecther as he believes Connolly is not as good a drummer as he is. This soon leads to an intense night session where Andrew, Connolly and Carl all audition for the core drummer part with Andrew finally earning the part as his hands literally bleed from playing.

Enroute to another jazz competition, Andrew is forced to get a rental car to get there after the bus he was riding had broken down but he forgets to lift his drumsticks from the rental place. Andrew then shows up at the competition and argues with Fletcher about having no sticks and that he could give up the part he earned at a moment's notice. Andrew then races back to get his sticks from the rental office but he ends up his crashing his rental car in an accident. However, sustaining a head injury, Andrew determinedly heads back to the competition much to everyone's shock, he starts to play the track "Caravan" but its soon clear he cannot continue due to his injury. Fletcher then tells Andrew he is finished with the band, which enrages Andrew and he attacks Fletcher and is dragged off him by the other band members. Soon after, Andrew is sent a formal letter confirming his dismissal from the conservatory.

Not long after, Andrew's father, Jim Neiman (Paul Reiser) asks Andrew to meet with a lawyer, who is representing the parents of a former conservatory student named Sean Casey, whom Fletcher had tutored. Fletcher previously had told the class about Casey and that he died in a car accident but the lawyer tells Andrew that Casey, who had been struggling with depression, committed suicide, which was most likely as a result of Fletcher's abusive teaching methods. The lawyer requests that Andrew testify against Fletcher to prevent him from carrying on but assures Andrew that he will be kept anonymous to which Andrew agrees to testify and as a result, Fletcher is fired from the conservatory. 

Months later, Andrew has given up on drumming and works at a restaurant but one night walking by a bar he notices a billboard with Fletcher's name on it and on entering the bar, Andrew finds Fletcher performing piano. After the show, Fletcher inivites Andrew to have a drink and afterward, Fletcher tells Andrew that he has a band playing an upcoming show at the JVC jazz festival and asks is Andrew would be interested in playing but tells him to think it over.

So, its from here that Andrew must decide if he will make his return as a drummer and take up Fletcher on his offer...

THOUGHTS

As a film, Whiplash is a highly entertaining and gripping experience, which is pretty intense right from the get go and its highlights are undoubtedly between the two leads of the film where we see JK Simmons and Miles Teller go at it and lock heads in an intense battle of the minds. The film however has of course been criticised by professional musicians, who have called it out as being totally unrealistic in its depiction of tuition towards students. And it would be fair to say that this indeed feels more like Full Metal Jacket goes to jazz school with the character of Fletcher being a ruthless, foul mouthed tyrant who berates his students at any given moment just like Lee Ermy did as Sgt Hartman did in FMJ.

Nonetheless I still think the film has to take certain license with the realities of music tuition in order for it to become an engrossing drama and on that scale it certainly succeeds as it would make for a rather dull experience if it didn't. And in that way this certainly has the feel more of an endurance film more than anything else where its about the survival of the fittest rather than the joy of creating music.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section contains spoilers and strong language!)

As for the performances, this is where Whiplash certainly works as the cast are all excellent in their respective roles and particularly the two leads.

Starting with Miles Teller who is great in his role as Andrew Neiman, the ambitious young jazz drum student who undergoes the cruel tutelage of Fletcher but in spite of it, he remains resolute in his ambition to make it as a professional drummer.

And Teller has his share of good scenes such as the one where Andrew decides to break up with his girlfriend, Nicole in a preemptive strike to better his chances of pursuing his career.

So, Andrew tells her "I'm just gonna lay it out there. This is why I don't think we should be together. And I've thought about it a lot and this is what's gonna happen. I'm gonna keep pursuing what I'm pursuing. And because I'm doing that, it's gonna take up more and more of my time. And I'm not gonna be able to spend as much time with you. And when I do spend time with you, I'm gonna be thinking about drumming. And I'm gonna be thinking about jazz music, my charts, all that. And because of that, you're gonna start to resent me. And you're gonna tell me to ease up on the drumming, spend more time with you because you're not feeling important. And I'm not gonna be able to do that. And really, I'm gonna start to resent you for even asking me to stop drumming. And we're just gonna start to hate each other. And it's gonna get very... It's gonna be ugly. And so for those reasons, I'd rather just, you know, break it off clean... because I wanna be great". And Nicole just sits there stunned and asks Andrew "And you're not?" and Andrew tells her "I want to be one of the greats" and Nicole asks "And I would stop you from doing that?" and Andrew bluntly tells her "Yes".   

Then there is the scene where Andrew confronts Fletcher when he threatens to replace him as the core drummer in a jazz competition and Andrew has forgotten to lift his sticks after renting a car to get to the competition.

So, in the scene, Andrew turns up a bit late and Fletcher teases him for it and says "Well, glad you could fit us into your busy schedule, darling" and Andrew says "I know. Look, I'm sorry but I'm here and I'm ready to go". However Fletcher tells Andrew "Connelly's playing the part" and Andrew insolently says "Like fuckin hell he's gonna play my part!" which leaves Fletcher taken aback and he angrily asks him "What the fuck did you just say to me?" and Andrew says "Its my part". Fletcher then fires back at Andrew "Its MY part and I decide who to lend it to. Usually its someone with fucking sticks!".  Fletcher however refuses to relent and tells Andrew "Neiman, you lost the part" but Andrew shouts at him "No, I didn't! You can't fucking do this to me!" which prompts further rage from Fletcher who yells back "CAN'T??!! When did you become an expert on what I can or can't do, you fucking weepy willow shitsack?!".

Andrew then angrily says to Fletcher "I earned that part" but Fletcher goes on to berate him more and Andrew spits back "I'm the best player in this studio band!" which annoys Connelly who says "Hey, bro, why don't just back off?" which prompts Andrew to yell "FUCK OFF, JOHNNY UTAH! TURN MY PAGES, BITCH!". Fletcher then glares at Andrew and says to him "I can cut you anytime I want" but Andrew remains defiant and says "You would have cut me already!" which angers Fletcher more who shouts "TRY ME, YOU FUCKING WEASEL!". Fletcher then warns Andrew that he has one chance to get back in 10 minutes with his sticks of Connelly will take over his part, so Andrew firmly tells Fletcher "Its MY part, I'll be on YOUR stage!" and he rushes off.

Then there is the following scene where Andrew get's into a car crash as he rushes to get back to the competition in his rental car but collides with another vehicle and he races back on foot and turns up with his head bleeding. So, Andrew starts to play the track "Caravan" but its clear he cannot continue and he is stopped by Fletcher, who coldly tells him "Neiman...you're done". So, this prompts Andrew jump off the kit and attack Fletcher and throw him to the ground as he yells at him "Piece of shit! I'll fucking kill you!!!". The other band members then rush in and restrain Andrew and pull him off Fletcher and drag him off as Andrew furiously shouts "FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU, FLETCHER! FUCK YOU!!".

And then we have J.K. Simmons who provides what is unquestionably his best performance as the ruthless band instructor, Terence Fletcher, who's brutal teaching methods push his students and particularly, Andrew to the very limit.

And Simmons has too many scenes to quote from here as he gets all the film's best dialogue and moments, so I will try and narrow it down to just a few scenes.

So, to kick off there is the scene near the start where Fletcher chastises one of the unfortunate band members for apparently being out of tune. So, he singles out one of the players, Metz and he says to him calmly "Do you thin you're out of tune?". However, Metz is so scared he can't look up at Fletcher, who looks at him and says "What are you... there's no fucking Mars Bar down there, what are you looking at? Look up here, look at me. Do you think you were out of tune?". Metz finally summons the courage to respond with a frightened "Yes" and a nod, which causes Fletcher to unexpectedly explode at Metz "THEN WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T YOU SAY SO???!!!" which causes Metz to break down in tears.

Fletcher then tells Metz "Carried your fat ass for too long, Metz. I'm not gonna have you cost us a competition because your mind's on a fucking happy meal instead of on pitch! What are you still doing sitting there?! Get the fuck out!". So, Metz while sobbing gets up and leaves and Fletcher tells the other band members "For the record, Metz wasn't out of tune" and he looks to one of the other members "You were, Erickson, but he didn't know and that's bad enough".

Then there is the famous "rushing or dragging" scene (well if you are familiar with the film that is) where Fletcher begins to tear into Andrew for not being on time during a rehearsal of Whiplash.

So, after Andrew plays the start of "Whiplash" and has to constantly stop and start at Fletcher's say so, Fletcher finally snaps and throws a chair at Andrew's head, which narrowly misses him. So, Fletcher trying to restrain himself asks Andrew "Why do you think I just threw a chair at your head?" and Andrew nervously says "I don't know" and Fletcher tells him "Sure you do!" and Andrew asks "The tempo?" and Fletcher asks him "Where you rushing or were you dragging?" and Andrew nervously replies "I don't know". So, Fletcher then storms up to Andrew and tells him to start counting music time for him and he slaps him on the face as he does it and he grows more angry as they continue.

So, it gets to the point where Andrew begins to cry from Fletcher's abusive comments and Fletcher says quietly "Oh, dear God!You're upset, aren't you?" and Andrew nods and Fletcher says "Say it, so the whole band can hear you?". So, Andrew tearfully says "I'm upset" and Fletcher shouts at him "Louder!!" and Fletcher shouts even louder "LOUDER!!" and Andrew says it louder "I'm upset!!" and Fletcher yells even more "LOUDER!!!!" and Andrew finally yells "I'M UPSET!!". So, Fletcher then cruelly berates Andrew again and shouts "You are a worthless, friendless, faggot-lipped little piece of shit whose mommy left daddy when she figured out he wasn't Eugene O'Neill, and who is now weeping and slobbering all over my drum set like a fucking nine-year old girl! So for the final, FATHER-FUCKING time, SAY IT LOUDER!" and Andrew shouts "I'M UPSET!!!!". So, Fletcher finally relents and walks back to compose the band and tells Andrew "Start practicing harder, Neiman!".

Then there is the great scene where Fletcher pushes the band's three drummers to the absolute limit as he auditions them in turn to play a part and none of them can play it up to scratch, so he keeps berating them until one of them does.

So, in the scene Fletcher has a go at each drummer, Andrew, Connelly and Tanner and as Andrew tries to play the part, Fletcher yells at him "NOT MY FUCKING TEMPO!!". Fletcher then turns to the other band members and says to them "Sorry, guys. Hate to put you through this. If you need to fucking take a dump or get a coffee,whatever, now might be a good time. We're gonna stay until I find a drummer who can fucking play in time I apologize to the musicians. Seriously, take 10, 20, a fucking hour" and he says to the drummers "You hear me, cocksuckers?! You better start shitting me perfect 400s!".

And so the drummers continue to get grilled by Fletcher while the other musicians take a break, Andrew continues to try and nail the part but can't play fast enough. So, Fletcher holds up his hand and looks disgusted with him and asks Andrew "Is that really the fastest you can play, you worthless Hymie fuck?! No one wondered mommy ran out on you! Get off the fucking kit!". So, Andrew gets off and Tanner takes his turn to get verbally bashed as Fletcher shouts at him "And here comes mister gay pride of the Upper West Side himself. Unfortunately, this is not a Bette Midler concert, we will not be serving Cosmopolitans and Baked Alaska, so just play faster than you give fucking hand jobs, will you please?!". So, Tanner starts playing but can't play the tempo fast enough, so Fletcher stops him and says "Not even fucking close!". So, Connelly takes his turn and Fletcher mocks his Irish heritage and for adjusting the seat height only for Connelly once again failing to keep the tempo that Fletcher wants, so Fletcher yells at him "BULLSHIT!! FUCK YOU!! Get off!!".

So, Andrew sits at the kit once again and Fletcher wearily says to him "Neiman! Maybe its time to finally bring this home, what do you say? Show me!". So, Andrew starts playing a faster pace than the others that finally holds Fletcher's approval and he intensely looks at Andrew and tells him "Don't slow down! Pick it up!" and Andrew keeps on playing and Fletcher yells at him "FASTER!! FASTER!!". Fletcher then grabs a cowbell and a drumstick and strikes it close to Andrew's head to motivate him and he then throws the cowbell away and grabs the floor tom of the kit and throws it across the room as Andrew furiously tries to keep the pace going. So, Fletcher keeps yelling at Andrew "FASTER!!! KEEP PLAYING!!! KEEP PLAYING!! DON'T STOP!" and Andrew frantically keeps the fast pace going with all he has left in him and at that point Fletcher signals for Andrew to stop playing, who stops and gasps with relief as we see his hands are bleeding from playing so hard. Fletcher then finally calms down and looks at Andrew and tells him "Neiman, you earned the part" and he looks to Connelly and Tanner and says to them "Alternates, do you want to clean the blood off my drum set?" as Andrew sinks over the kit in sheer exhaustion.

Then there is the scene where Fletcher confronts Andrew over his turning up late at a jazz competition without his sticks and threatens to have Connelly play his drum part instead. So, as the two of them argue, Fletcher warns Andrew "At 5:30, that's in exactly 11 minutes, my band is on stage. If your ass is not on that stool with your own fucking sticks in hand or you make ONE FUCKING MISTAKE, ONE! I will drum your ass back to Nassau where you can turn pages until you graduate or fucking drop out! By the time you're done at Shaffer, you're gonna make Daddy look like a fucking success story. Got it? Or, we can let Johnny Utah play the part. You choose!".

And last of all is the scene where Fletcher meets with Andrew after Andrew attends a gig that Fletcher played in a bar in New York, months after both of them left the conservatory. So, as the two of them share a drink, Fletcher tells Andrew his philosophy on teaching his former students as well as the story of how the legendary jazz drummer, Charlie Parker, made a name for himself.

So, Fletcher tells Andrew "And a year later he (Charlie Parker) goes back to the Reno and he steps up on that stage and he plays the best motherfucking solo the world has ever heard. So imagine if Jones just said "Well, that's okay Charlie. That was alright. Good job." Then Charlie thinks to himself "Well, shit. I did do a pretty good job." End of story. No Bird. That, to me, is an absolute tragedy. But that's just what the world wants now. People wonder why jazz is dying. I'll tell you, man - and every Starbucks "jazz" album just proves my point, really - there are no two words in the English language more harmful than "good job"".  And Fletcher then admits to Andrew "The truth is, Andrew, I never really had a Charlie Parker. But I tried. I actually fucking tried, and that's more than most people ever do. And I will never apologize for how I tried".

As for the supporting cast, I won't bother quoting any dialogue as the other parts aren't quite so prominent in comparison to the two main leads but I will give them a mention of course as they are also excellent here.

For starters, Paul Reiser does a fine job here as Andrew's father, Jim Neiman, who is a school teacher, who is also an aspiring writer and he looks out for his son as well as keeps going to the movies with him as a tradition. Later on, Jim also persuades Andrew to testify against Fletcher after the news of a former student of his had taken his own life most likely as a result of Fletcher's abusive methods.

Melissa Benoist is also pretty good in her role as Nicole, Andrew's brief love interest in the film as the two of them start dating but it very quickly doesn't go anywhere as a result of Andrew's obsession with his career to become one of the great jazz drummers. And Melissa delivers a nicely understated performance here and its just a pity that her role is underwritten here.

Austin Stowell also does well in his role as Ryan Connolly, a fellow drum student of Andrew's who ends up playing for Fletcher as well and as a result it develops a bitter rivalry between the two as Andrew resents Fletcher for bringing him into the band. Stowell however given his physique here
actually looks more like a high school jock here than an actual drum student it has to be said!

And last of all is Nate Lang who also is pretty good in his role as Carl Tanner, one of Andrew's rival drummers in the studio band and a growing resentment forms in Tanner as he sees Andrew become better than him and he eventually takes over as the core drummer for the band.

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

As for the director, Damien Chazelle does a fine job here and he was also the writer for the screenplay, so he earns double the credit as his script is filled with some great dialogue and he also paces out the film very well as its pretty tight run time wise at just over 1 hour and 45 minutes. Chazelle also expertly builds up the tension between Fletcher and Andrew as the two of them lock heads throughout. Chazelle himself actually based the film on his experiences playing drums in his high school band where he also had to deal with an abusive band leader.  So, of course even though Chazelle must have endured a lot of crap at the hands of his instructor, its certainly paid off well for him since then.

As for the music score it was composed by Justin Hurwitz which is very good although the score itself is split up between the original compositions for the film and the classical jazz tracks that the studio band play in the film. The jazz tracks featured are of course "Whiplash" by Eugene Levy, "Caravan" by Duke Ellington and "Intoit" by Stan Getz.

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

So, flaws...does Whiplash have any??? Well, despite how much I enjoyed it, I still have to say it does have its share.

For starters what I would say about the film that didn't work quite so well is that it really forgets to deal with any sense of joy involved in musical creativity as you never once see anyone smiling while they rehearse or plays songs, its just played out more like an intense sports movie where everyone is trying outdo each other! So, in this respect the film really doesn't carry over any passion from the characters and what they get out of the music, its more they are just driven to succeed rather than enjoy what they are doing.

Another issue I had was simply to do with the whole idea of someone like Fletcher being able to even teach in a music school in the first place! I mean the guy is not only yelling at students but slapping them and throwing chairs at them (in the case of Andrew) and anyone who did in that in reality would have been fired on the spot surely for gross misconduct! Not only that but surely there would have been other tutors nearby hearing Fletcher yelling and hurling insults at his students yet NOTHING is done about him from the stand point of the tutors that are there, which suggests to me that Fletcher is very high up in the school or they are all terrified of him!

I also found the scenes where we see Andrew practice until his hands literally bleed also pretty silly and far fetched as having watched a few Youtube videos after by professional drummers and musicians, none of them have EVER said they encountered a drummer that played the drums so hard they bled! So, for the film to include these over the top moments where Andrew is bleeding over Fletcher's drum kit and indeed his own are just ridiculous! I also found it a bit incredible to think that Andrew could somehow even punch a big hole through his snare drum head! I mean the skin of snare drums are pretty thick, so the notion that a guy like Andrew could punch through it is pretty stupid quite frankly!

I also felt that the film pretty much marginalizes the  other characters in it as it really is also all about Andrew and Fletcher, so everyone else pretty much takes a back seat here. It also further emphasizes that this film could have played out almost better as a two hander with very few other cast members involved with the exception of the band members of course as so much attention put on these two and not much on everyone else. So, the other characters such as Andrew's dad and girlfriend are just merely bystanders here.

WARNING: THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH IS A SPOILER!

And last of all, there is that frankly ridiculous scene where Andrew is involved in a car accident and despite sustaining injuries to his head and hands, he decides to make his way back to play in a jazz competition! Now to me this is just plain stupid! I mean this guy has just been in a bad car accident, yet despite a bleeding head and maybe also a concussion, he decides "Yep! I can still play!" and heads back to play only to mess it up due to his injuries. Its just yet another moment of Hollywood making us suspend disbelief but even for me this really was a real moment of unbelievable BS which could not have been harder to believe!

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, Whiplash is a very entertaining, engrossing and intense film that basically resembles the idea of Full Metal Jacket in a jazz school! The performances from the cast are all excellent and in particular J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller are both great in their respective roles and Simmons himself certainly deserved to take home the Academy Award he won for this film for his role of the ruthless, foul mouthed band instructor, Terence Fletcher.  And yeah the film is a bit far fetched at times and forgets to show the idea of musicians actually enjoying the music they play and instead uses the idea of turning the whole tuition process into the survival of the fittest, which actually makes it more like a sports film than a musical one.

However if you can forgive its flaws, Whiplash is still a pretty good film well worth checking out and I would certainly recommend giving it a go.

Right, that's it for now and I will be back again sometime soon with another post.

Till then its bye for now!   

The Firm Review Revisited "Why are you asking questions about dead lawyers??"

Well, its time for another post and this one is yep again another re-visitation of a previous post, which is the legal thriller, The Firm. I recently watched the film again, so that's why I fancied giving my previous review another look and tidying it up and adding in a few bits here and there as I usually do in my revisits.

So, with that said let's take another look at this film and see how it stacks up after 26 years...

And the usual warning is coming up...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!

STORY

Right so the films begin with its main character, Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) a young Harvard law graduate is given several job offers from different law firms.  Mitch however soon accepts a job offer from one firm, Bendini, Lambert and Locke who specialise in accounting and tax law in Memphis.  Mitch along with his wife, Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn) moves to Memphis and then sets the task of passing the bar exam.  Mitch soon meets Avery Tolar (Gene Hackman) who is Mitch's appointed mentor who introduces him to the culture of the firm and also its strict confidentiality and loyalty as well as to willingly charge astronomical fees for their services.

Mitch soon becomes embroiled in his work which puts a strain on his marriage and to make matters more complicated when Mitch goes on a business trip with Avery to the Cayman Islands he ends up being seduced by a local woman.  However on Mitch's return to America he discovers from the firm's sinister security chief, Bill DeVasher (Wilford Brimley) that the incident with the woman was a setup and it was created to keep Mitch quiet about what he knows about the firm.

Mitch also is approached by two FBI agents one of them being Wayne Tarrance (Ed Harris) who warns him that the firm is in fact corrupt and that one of their main clients is the Morolto crime family from Chicago.  Mitch also discovers from another agent who meets with him that none of the junior employees of the firm who tried to leave, left alive.  Mitch then faces the choice of either testifying against the firm by disclosing confidential information about the firm's clients to the FBI, risking disbarment or going to jail when the FBI take down the firm and the crime family if Mitch is able to stay alive.

And its from here that Mitch devises a plan to try and keep himself alive and co-operate with the FBI to get the information they want as well as to try and get his older brother, Ray (David Strathairn) out of prison before the firm get to him also.

THOUGHTS

As a thriller The Firm works pretty well and it is helped along by its strong cast and its story is also quite tense and gripping, which of course is based on the novel by John Grisham (who himself was/is a law attorney).  Although it does have a sort of rags to riches feel to it with Mitch's character being the typical ambitious wannabe it still holds up well and as the circle closes in on Mitch with the pressure of both the firm and FBI breathing down his neck that's when the film becomes more and more engrossing.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES

Performance wise things are top notch in the film as its features a great cast which help the film out to no end.


Starting with Tom Cruise he puts in a fine performance as the ambitious young lawyer, Mitch McDeere who get's sucked into the firm and ends up having to play balancing act between the firm and the FBI, which endangers his life.

Tom has some good scenes in the film such as the scene where Mitch pays his older brother, Ray a visit in prison and he says to him quietly "Hey Ray, wouldn't it be funny if I went to Harvard, you went to Jail and we both ended up surrounded by crooks".

Another scene of note is the one where Mitch and Avery meet with one of their clients and Avery is not doing so well in their meeting, so Mitch decides to butt in and help out. So, Mitch says to the client "It`s the best interest-free loan you`ll ever get. No. Next year they`re closing this loophole. If you haven`t grabbed this proposal, you`ll feel you've been fucked with a dick big enough for an elephant to feel it!" and the client looks at him and says "You know that for a fact?!".

Another good scene is when Mitch with the firm's senior partners after his meeting with the FBI agent and he says to them "I just had an interesting chat with the FBI!" and one of the partners asks "What did they want?" and Mitch says "The secret files!" and they all slowly break up laughing.  And after they finish their meeting "Who will we bill for this hour?" and Mitch says "How about the FBI?!" and laughs but after leaving he walks down the stairs with a very anxious look on his face.


Then there is the moment where Mitch has dinner with Abby and he confesses his infidelity with the woman he met at the Cayman Islands.  And Abby angrily asks "What are you telling me this?!" and Mitch says, ashamedly "Because I couldn't stand you're not knowing".  Then after the moment where Mitch meets with one of the FBI agents, he speaks to speaks to another agent, Wayne Tarrance (Ed Harris).  And Mitch discusses his options saying " Let me get this straight: you want me to steal files from the firm, turn them over to the FBI, send my colleagues to jail...Breach attorney-client privilege, thus getting myself disbarred for life, then testify in open court against the Mafia...".  And as Tarrance tries to say something Mitch stops him by saying "Let me ask you something: are you out of your fucking mind?!".

Another scene is the one near the end (SPOILER!!) where Mitch manages to evade the Firm's pesky security men (or essentially hitman team!) and he makes his into the office where the Morolto brothers are (Paul Sorvino and Joe Viterelli) and tells them how the firm has been over billing them and all their clients.

So, Mitch in the scene tells the brothers that he has copies of their files "And, of course...if we have to talk to a third party, then I know everything... right down to the penny, pound, franc, and Deutschmark. I know everything you know...as I should as your attorney". So, one of the Morolto's asks Mitch "And what if the firm should desire to terminate your employment?" and Mitch answers "Whatever I know, wherever I go, I am bound by the attorney/client privilege. I am very much Iike...I would say I am exactly like a ship carrying a cargo that will never reach any port".

And lastly there is the scene (SPOILER!!!) where after Mitch manages to secure his life away from the firm by nailing his firm of being guilty of overbilling their clients he talks with Tarrance as he packs his bags.  And Tarrance says "Man, I don't understand you.  What did you do it for?  You didn't win a thing!" and Mitch says "Oh, yes I did. I won my life back. YOU don't run me, and THEY don't run me!".  And as Mitch then says to Tarrance "You want to know something funny? You actually made me think about the law. I managed to go through three years of law school without doing that!".

Gene Hackman is excellent as ever in his role as the smooth and suave firm lawyer, Avery Tolar, who acts as Mitch's mentor and he also has some good scenes.

And for starters there is the scene when Mitch and Avery have lunch together and Mitch asks Avery what made him become a lawyer and Avery says "I used to caddy for lawyers and their wives on summer weekends. I looked at those long tan legs and just knew I had to be a lawyer. The wives had long tan legs, too!".

Then there is the scene where Avery visits Abby at her school where she teaches and he asks her to come with him to the Cayman Islands "Want to come? I know. It sounds outrageous, but...think about it. We could grab some sun, take a dip... drink some Havana Club. I could give you marital advice  and hit on you. And whatever happens, I promise, I take rejection well".

And later there is the moment where Avery is drugged by Abby in her hotel room when they are at the Cayman islands and the next morning Avery tells Abby about Mitch's setup with the woman and he says "Abby, the girl on the beach was a setup. They do things like that, in case the other enticements don't work".  And as Avery is rumbled by the firm's security chief, DeVasher, Abby says to him "What will they do to you?" and Avery wearily says "Whatever it is, they did it a long time ago".

Jeanne Tripplehorn is also pretty good as Abby, Mitch's loving wife but their marriage comes under strain when Mitch becomes more embroiled in his work and later when they learn of their possible fate at the hands of the firm.

Jeanne has some good scene too that include at the start of the film when Abby comes home to their dingy apartment in Boston and Mitch having just got his offer from the firm, surprises her by grabbing her and kissing her.  And Abby says to him "You better leave, my husband is due home any minute!".

Another good scene is when Mitch after having learned about the true nature of the firm and having learned their home is bugged goes back home to Abby and he turns their stereo on and turns up the volume real loud and he hugs her and whispers in her ear what is going on and she shakes her head in horror and then runs out of the house.  And Abby says "Everything single thing we've said or done since we've been in that house....nothing has been between us!".

Then there is the scene where Abby and Mitch have dinner together and Mitch solemnly admits to his one night stand on the beach at the Caymans. So, Mitch awkwardly starts by saying "That night on the beach..." and Abby asks him "What? What did you do?" and his guilty face says it all for her and she suddenly looks shocked and says "No!". Abby then takes a moment to process this shocking news and tries to calm herself and asks "So, who was she?" and Mitch filled with guilt says "I don't even know her name". Abby angrily asks him "You didn't know her name?!" and Mitch insists "It didn't mean anything" and Abby furiously tells him "Like hell it didn't! Why did you do it?! Why did you fuck some stranger on a beach when you were away from me?!". Mitch then says "Abby, I can promise you.." but Abby shakes her headin disgust and says "No, you can't promise anything! Not anymore!" and after a beat she asks him "Why did you tell me?" and Mitch shamefully admits "Because I couldn't stand not to. I couldn't stand your not knowing". 

And lastly later on when Abby attempts to seduce Avery but he cottons onto it and grabs her he says "Why did you come here?!  You're not being truthful!" and then Abby confesses "I'm here to get back at Mitch and because I'm angry at the firm for ruining our lives!".  And Avery wearily says "Well that's better than the alternative" and Abby says "What alternative" and Avery says "That you came to see me".

Ed Harris is also excellent as the hot tempered FBI agent Wayne Tarrance who coerces Mitch into co-operating with the FBI in order to avoid going to jail.

Harris also has some good scenes in the film such as when Tarrance meets with Mitch at a racetrack and he angrily says to Mitch "How about you get down on your knees and kiss my ass for not indicting you as a co-conspirator right now, you chickenshit little Harvard cocksucker?!".  And Mitch says "I haven't done anything and you know it!" and Tarrance barks back "Who gives a fuck? I'm a federal agent! You know what that means, you lowlife motherfucker? It means you've got no rights, your life is mine! I could kick your teeth down your throat and yank 'em out your asshole, and I'm not even violating your civil rights!".

Then there is the scene where Tarrance loses track of Mitch's brother, Ray, after he is released from prison and the FBI tail him.  And in the scene Tarrance asks for his team to "Get me a map of Lousiana" and none of them respond so he shouts "GET ME A MAP OF LOUSIANA!!!".

Another good scene from Ed is when Tarrance learns that a prison guard sent a fax to the firm to let them know that Mitch cut a deal with the FBI.  So, Tarrance exclaims and shouts "NO, NO, NO!" and he rings up Mitch at his office, who is about to be cornered by the firm partners and DeVasher. So as Mitch faces the partners, he picks up the phone and Tarrance urgently tells him "Get out of there! They know! Get out! Did you hear what I said? Get out. Get over here now!". And Mitch frozen to the spot listens silently and then we hear Tarrance ask "Can you?" and Mitch quietly says to him "I understand" and he hangs up.

Get out of there.
They know. Get out.
Did you hear what I said?
Get out. Get over here now.

Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=the-firmGet out of there.
They know. Get out.
Did you hear what I said?
Get out. Get over here now.

Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=the-firm

Get out of there.
They know. Get out.
Did you hear what I said?
Get out. Get over here now.

Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=the-fir

And later near the end of the film when Mitch saves himself from the firm, Tarrance moans about how getting the firm only for overbilling is not enough "Get 'em with what?!  Overbilling, mail fraud?!  Oh, that's exciting!".  And as Tarrance is about to leave he asks Mitch "How the hell did you come up with mail fraud??" and Mitch says "It was on the bar exam!".

Holly Hunter who is always reliable in any film also provides a fine performance as Tammy, the sexy secretary to a private investigator, Eddie Lomax (Gary Busey) a former cellmate of Ray, who later helps out Mitch in his plan.

Holly's good moments in the film include when during Mitch's heated conversation with Tarrance at the racetrack is recorded by Tammy who calls Tarrance's mobile phone and she says "Is this Wayne Tarrance?" and Tarrance says "Yeah, this is Wayne Tarrance" and Tammy says "So is this!" and she plays back the recording of his conversation with Mitch.

And later there is the scene when Tammy meets up with Ray and she says to him "Mitch sent me to tell you the plan has changed" and Ray looks at her and says "I didn't know there was a plan" and she says "Well that's good because its been changed".

And lastly there is moment where a bit of a romantic spark starts to develop between Tammy and Ray near the end of the film when he says "I love your crooked little mouth" and surprised she says "Well its not my best feature".

Hal Halbrook is also very good in his role as Oliver Lambert, the firm's senior partner and he has one of the film's best moments when Mitch is called into a room filled with associates of the firm.

And Lambert says to Mitch "You think you're pretty smart, don't you?  Well we've been told there is someone smarter!".  And after a tense pause, Lambert says "You didn't get the highest score in the bar exam....you get SECOND highest score!".

Wilford Brimley is also very good as the sinister DeVasher, the firm's head of security and he has some good scenes too.

And they include the moment where DeVasher who is keeping a close eye on Mitch, says "What do you think I am a fuckin night watchman?!" and Avery sarcastically says "Sometimes I get confused" and DeVasher sharply says "Well don't!".

And then there is the moment where DeVasher meets with Mitch and shows him the incriminating photos of Mitch and the woman he had a one-nighter with at the Cayman Islands.  And DeVasher says to Mitch "Not just screwing, Mitch. All sorts of intimate acts, oral and whatnot, that can be particularly hard for a trusting wife to forgive and IMPOSSIBLE to forget".  And DeVasher continues by saying "So if the FBI so much as spits in our direction, you'll tell us, won't you Mitch?".

And lastly there is the moment where DeVasher finds a fax sent to the firm's office from a corrupt security guard in with the firm that says Mitch is working with the FBI.  And DeVasher says on the radio "Go and find, McDeere!  The son of a bitch cut a deal!".

Gary Busey is also great in his small but noteworthy role as the P.I. Eddie Lomax, who was Ray's former cell mate.  And Eddie when he meets with Mitch says to him "I feel like I went to law school with you as you're brother talked about you every stinking day in prison!".

And later DeVasher's henchman, the Nordic man (Tobin Bell) shows up at Eddie's office, the Nordic man shoots Eddie in both shoulders and asks him "Why are you asking questions about dead lawyers?  Who hired you to do that?!".  And Eddie gasping reaches for a gun underneath his desk and says "OK....OK.  Just let me think.  His name was.....Julio Iglasias!" and shoots the Nordic man's other hitman partner (played funnily by Dean Norris of Breaking Bad!) in the knee who shoots Eddie dead.

Tobin Bell is also very good in his role as the creepy albino hitman, simply known as the Nordic man who works for the firm.

And Bell's main scene comes when the Nordic man and his partner, the Squat Man (good names!) pay Eddie a visit to question him on why he is investigating the law firm's dead lawyers.

So, in the scene the Nordic man pulls a gun on Eddie and shoots him in his left ear and he carefully aims his gun at him and says "This is going to turn out badly for you, but we can make it relatively painless. Why are you asking questions about dead lawyers? Who hired you to do that?". So, after he shoots Eddie a couple more times in the shoulders, Eddie gasps and says "OK. His name was Julio Iglesias!" and he fires a gun underneath his desk that hits in the squat man in the leg, who returns fire and kills Eddie. This angers, the Nordic man who shouts at his partner " No! No! Great. Just great. You want to ask him a few questions now?!" before they walk out without spotting Tammy hiding under Eddie's desk.

Paul Sorvino who has a ll role near the end of the film as the crime boss, Tommy Morolto seems to essentially reprise his role as the mob boss from Goodfellas, Paulie Cicero but its still a role he effortlessly slips into.  And Sorvino still makes a good impact in his main scene near the end when he rants about Mitch and he says "If I ever get my fuckin hands on this kid!" and low and behold Mitch turns up at their office!   

And last of all there is David Strathairn who is excellent as Mitch's older brother, Ray who was imprisoned for manslaughter.

Strathairn also has some good scenes such as when Mitch meets with Ray at prison and Ray asks Mitch "How'd you land a job like that with a brother in the slammer?" and Mitch goes silent and Ray quickly understands and says " I get it. Don't worry, I'd probably have done the same thing".  And Mitch feeling guilty says "You were always there for me, Ray...." Ray says "I'd have done the same thing. You think I want to tell the guys around here that I got a brother at Harvard?".  And Mitch asks Ray "Is there anything I can do for you?" and Ray says "Sure.  Get me outta here" and Mitch asks "Where to?" and Ray says "Anywhere I can see a whole lotta sky. I get through the days, I even eat the food. It's amazing how much you miss the sky".

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

Finally moving onto the director and music stuff, starting with the film's director, the late and great Sydney Pollack, he does a fine job here with the film and while the film moves at a bit of leisurely pace, Pollack does very well at notching up the suspense as the film carries on.  Pollack also does great at eliciting excellent performances from his cast and he himself was a fine actor and acted in several films too before his untimely death in 2008.

Music wise it features a not bad one by David Grusin, which is almost entirely played on piano and it has some good tracks and moments of suspense, particularly during the scenes where Mitch flees from the firm and is chased by DeVasher and his Nordic hitman.  The score in these moments also even echoes John Williams's score for JFK with the dramatic piano and metronome on the background.  Its not a great score but it is still a fairly good one which is both pleasurable enough and dramatic enough to fit the tone of the film.

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

As for The Firm's flaws...yes it does have some. 

For starters I have to say with the Melodrama going on around Mitch in the film between his one night stand at the Cayman Islands, his home struggles with Abby and also pressure from the firm and the FBI that he would have found enough time to actually even study for the bar exam let alone pass it!  And having looked up on the Internet it actually states that a prospective lawyer would need to take at least between 400 and 600 hours to study and prepare for the bar exam.  And I very much doubt between all the film's melodrama that Mitch had that time although there are one or two sequences where it does depict him working late, which would suggest the passage of time for his studies.

The film could also be said to be guilty of being a bit too long as takes its time to build its suspense at 2 and a half hours there moments where it definitely drags a bit and you feel that just maybe it would have been even better if they had trimmed it by 30 minutes or so. However to be fair it doesn't lag too horribly in comparison to some other films around the same length. 

Another thing that kind of bothered me in the film was to do with the ending where Mitch effectively becomes the crime family's attorney yet at the end of the film DeVasher is still alive (as Mitch kicks him unconscious after DeVasher mistakenly shoots the Nordic man) and most likely intent on wanting to take revenge on McDeere surely!  Now as the crime family may well essentially be DeVasher's boss what is to stop this guy from taking revenge for himself???  But well this is a point that is never really covered in the film but had DeVasher died then surely Mitch would be even more in the clear.

I also wondered plot wise if it was a good idea for Mitch to have told the firm that he had a meeting with the FBI rather than keep his mouth shut as that might have resulted in less attention being brought on him. Although one way of looking at it is it was a way for Mitch to back up his loyalties to the firm to reinforce their trust in him. With that being said though it was still a pretty dicey decision for Mitch to have made, which resulted in him being intimidated by DeVasher and the incriminating photos of him and the girl on the beach.

Another moment in the film that struck me as silly is the one where Mitch flees the office once the partners and DeVasher have discovered that he cut a deal with the FBI. So, in the scene Mitch runs into one of the lawyer's offices and grabs a chair smashes out the window with it and jumps out and lands on a rather conveniently placed truck filled with sacks! I mean talk about coincidences! In reality I'm sure it would be highly unlikely a truck would even be there at that precise moment! In fact I almost expected DeVasher to say over the radio to his men as he looks out of the smashed window "He just landed on a conveniently placed truck guys! Let's get him!". Its another prime example of a convenient plot device, which just so happens to be a truck in this case!

And lastly and yeah OK this is a pretty nitpicky point it is in the scene Mitch finds out the bad news that two of the firm's associates were killed and Mitch goes to see his friend and fellow firm associate, Lamar (played by Terry Kinney).  And in the scene Lamar sits out in his garden smoking a cigarette, almost in a daze, as a garden hose near him just sprays water all over his bottom of his trousers, YET this guy does nothing about it! And it made me think that this guy wasn't all there so to speak or perhaps that is one of the requirements to join the firm in the first place. I am perhaps being a bit picky here but it did strike me as a rather daft moment to be included.

Soo that's me done with looking at the film's flaws.

SUM UP

So, that's it for my look at The Firm and in summary its a good solid thriller which features an excellent cast, decent soundtrack and even though its a bit overlong it is relatively well paced and holds your attention pretty well.  Tom Cruise also provides another solid starring performance and he is starting to move away from the cocky callow youths that we were so used to seeing him play up to this point, which in itself is a good thing here!

So, after 26 years, I would still say that The Firm is still well worth a look.

Right, that's it for now and I will be back soon with another post.

Till then its bye fer now!

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - An Update Review

Well, this post will not be a re-write of my previous review of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice but more an update on my feelings of the game as just this week I decided to give it another go and see if I could enjoy it after my initial disappointing experience of the game. 

Now, before I go on, just in case you aren't aware, Sekiro is an action game by the makers of the hugely successful Dark Souls and Bloodborne games (From Software) and this was a hugely anticipated release as it was set to be a real departure from the Soulsborne games that came before it.
I would like to also just say that this post is just based on my opinions of the game and you are free to disagree with me and if you really enjoy this game, that's great.

So, yep I decided to purchase Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Again as I am a big fan of the Soulsborne games, which I had put what must be easily thousands of hours of gameplay into over the last year or so alone! And for me, Sekiro had alot to live up to if it were to prove to be just as great and addictive as these previous games were.  However unfortunately, I just felt really disappointed in this game on my first time playing it as I felt really underwhelmed by the environments, frustrated by the punishing difficulty level and above all else, discouraged by the tedious bosses and mini-bosses that paled in comparisons to the Soulsborne bosses.  

MY THOUGHTS 

So...what do I think of the game a second time round??? Unfortunately I feel exactly the same!

Yep, when I put that disc into the PS4 and loaded it up, I was prepared to give this game a second chance based on FromSoft's reputation alone and it was almost like I felt I owed them that chance. And having kept my save files from my previous playthrough, I was able to carry on where I left off but as soon as I did, I quickly felt that same old feeling of disappointment come back.

And to say a bit more about where I reached in the game, I was up to the point where Sekiro arrives at Senpou temple (Mt Kongo) and he takes on one of the mini bosses, Long Arm Centipede Sen-Un, who is basically a mutated centipede hybrid guy with very sharp long claws. And of course, Sen-Un can really tear you up with those claws if you are not careful and he can perform what is known in the game as a perilous attack (which is essentially an attack that cannot be blocked). So, I tried to beat this boss but I failed miserably to do so as I found his attacks were too fast and frenzied and following a walkthrough on Youtube, I was still not able to beat this guy.

So, I gave up on him and decided to have a go at one of the main bosses, Genichiro, who is well noted in the game for his difficulty and suffice to say again I struggled really badly against him. I did look at a Youtube walkthrough again to try and help me but I just felt at this point really demotivated by the game's overwhelming challenges and I just felt this game was not fun anymore and again decided to quit playing it.

And that for me is the whole problem with Sekiro is that it is simply not a fun game (well for me anyway) as it really feels like a major chore just trying to beat these bosses and mini-bosses. Its also pretty frustrating that in order to boost your health in the game, you have to kill these bosses in order to get what is known as a prayer bead from them and given how tough they are, it makes for a pretty tedious and long drown out slog. 

I also still found the whole combat system pretty limited especially where all you do is try and deflect every attack your enemy makes before you can get in a parry and preform a deathblow to remove their health bars of finish them off. It also doesn't help that these bosses can deal out enormous amounts of damage to you and finish off Sekiro in just two hits or less at times where as you do no more than tickle their health bar with your successive strikes! And the whole game in this respect really does feel unbalanced. 

And having watched several Youtube videos from Youtubers who have expressed their disappointment in the game, I totally agree with what they said about it and one of the things they said I definitely agree with is that this game forces to play just one game style and that's it. You basically have to learn to deflect and parry and that's pretty much it and you cannot therefore have access to any alternative game plans or strategies to take down bosses and that in itself is pretty frustrating. 

So, in the end I just basically deleted the game and returned the disc to the seller I bought it from, which is a pity as I would really liked to have given this game a proper second chance but I just it wasn't worth it.

SUM UP

So to sum up, Sekiro still remains a letdown for me personally as a gamer and it just doesn't cut it or stack up to the Soulsborne games that came before it. I can only hope that when From Software release their next title, Elden Ring come next year, that it will have more appeal and bring something new to the table again just like Sekiro did but in a more accessible and refreshing way that Sekiro for me personally just didn't.

Its a pity I just didn't enjoy Sekiro a second time round as I really hoped I would change my mind but unfortunately it wasn't to be.

Anyway that's it for now and I will be back soon with another post.

Till then its bye for now.

Carlito's Way Review Revisited "You're gonna fuckin' die BIG TIME!!"

Well, its about high time I did another post on this blog as its been ages since I last did one, so this post will be another revisitation and it will be on the crime thriller, Carlito's Way starring Al Pacino as a reformed gangster, who is trying to go straight after serving a prison sentence.  So, I will do the usual here and expand on certain sections and add any flaws I can think of also.

So, with that said let's load and take another look at this modern classic.

And yep the usual is coming...

PLOT SPOILIERS AHEAD!!!

STORY 

So, the story is set in 1975 and begins with Carlito Brigante (Pacino) who has just been acquitted after serving five years of a 30 year sentence, and a former big drug dealer, who returns to the streets of New York and his Peurto Rican neigbourhood.  However after his time in the joint, Carlito finally has changed and no longer wants to return to his life of crime and wants to start again with a clean slate.

However, going straight isn't all that easy for Carlito as he gets drawn into the life again, after narrowly surviving a botched drug deal which he is brought along on by his cousin, who is then killed, leaving Carlito to shoot his way out of the bar.  Carlito then uses the money from the drug deal to buy into taking share of a nightclub, which his lawyer friend David Kleinfeld (Penn) also puts money into.  But Carlito insists he is only buying in so he can get enough money together to get out and take over one of the friend's in the joint's car businesses, to ensure he will go straight.

Along the way Carlito also re-unites with his former girlfriend Gail (Penelope Ann Miller) who works as an exotic dancer in a strip bar.  But Carlito also faces a few new problems, the first one being and up and coming gangster Benny Blanco "from the Bronx" (John Leguizmo) who repeatedly tries to get Carlito to become business partners with him, which ultimately leads to a fight in the club, where Carlito tells Benny if he returns to the club he will be killed.  Benny then vows to kill Carlito if he ever sees him again, which leads Carlito to knock him down a flight of stairs, but rather than kill Benny, he chooses to let him go.

However, Carlito's biggest problem of all is Kleinfeld, who in his absence has become very corrupt and involved in jury tampering, bribing, and money laundering.  Kleinfeld also becomes involved in ripping off a mob boss Tony "T" Taglialucci (Frank Minucci) by stealing a million dollars from him.  Tony insists that Kleinfeld help him bust out of prison, and given very little choice in the matter, as Tony will have him killed if he doesn't.  At this point Kleinfeld becomes a nervous wreck, using cocaine regularly, and he asks Carlito to help him with Tony T's prison break, who initially is reluctant but agrees to help David out.

On the night of the breakout Kleinfeld is accompanied by Tony T's son, Frank (Adrian Pasdar) as well as Carlito, but on locating Tony in the rough waters, Kleinfeld beats Tony T to death with a golf club and cuts Frank's throat.  With Carlito's help, Kleinfeld dumps the two mobsters bodies into the river, Carlito now incensed at Kleinfeld's actions, says they are through and walks away.  Despite being confident about shaking off the mafia, Kleinfield the next day is attacked by two mobsters who stab him in the chest, however he survives.

Shortly after, Carlito is brought in for questioning by the DA Norwalk (James Rebhorn) who plays him a tape of Kleinfeld tipping off Carlito as supposedly dealing again, Norwalk offers Carlito a chance to testify against Kleinfeld, but he denies knowledge of the events surrounding Tony T's murder, even though the DA insists he knows that he was on the boat with Kleinfeld at the time.

And its from here Carlito must decide if he will testify against Kleinfeld or flee the feds whilst also trying to escape the clutches of the vengeful Mafia.

THOUGHTS 

Carlito's Way is not only a great crime thriller in its own right, its also ranks as one of Brian De Palma's best films and it features so many great suspenseful scenes, two of which in particular are the drug deal that goes awry near the start of the film with Carlito forced into shooting his way out.  And the other being the big chase scene through Grand Central station at the end.  De Palma as usual also employs many of his camera techniques, the opening scene is definitely worthy of note, the way it starts with the camera turning upside down as we see Carlito being carted away on a stretcher into an ambulence.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section continues spoilers and strong language!) 

Performance wise, the film also features an excellent cast, who are all on top form.

Starting with Al Pacino who is great in the title role of Carlito, and plays him as a man with a dark past who really has changed and become a better person, who just wants to try wipe the slate clean and start again.  Pacino has his share of good scenes that include both actual scenes and his narration and this post could mega long (as they usually are!). I will also refrain from quoting his narration as there is simply too much of it to include here aswell, so I will just use his actual dialogue scenes.

So, the first scene worth mentioning for Pacino is the one where Carlito is trapped in a bar where a drug deal is going down with his young cousin, Guijaro (John Augustin Ortiz) who is killed during a gunfight involving Carlito. And in the scene, Carlito decides to interrupt a game of pool to set up a trick shot, to buy him some time and he tells the dealers, "No trick shot! This is magic time! When you see this shot...you're gonna give up your religious beliefs!". 

And in the scene Carlito takes cover in the bathroom (where Guijaro's killer emerged from) and finds the gun he had taken from one of the other gang members is now empty, so he reloads the clip back into the gun and then shouts out to the others as follows:  "I'm reloaded! Okay? Come on in here, you motherfuckers! Come on, I'm waitin' for ya! What, you ain't comin' in? Okay, I'm comin' out! Oh, you up against me now, motherfuckers! I'm gonna blow your fuckin' brains out! You think you're big time? You gonna fuckin' die big time! You ready? HERE COMES THE PAIN!!!".

Then there is the scene where Carlito's meets with Laleen who (SPOILER!) is wearing a wire and trying to catch out Carlito to see if he is dealing again. So, in the scene, Laleen tries his best to get Carlito to admit but Carlito tells Laleen how he isn't connected anymore and instead he grabs a knife and holds it to Laleen and looks at his lapel and pulls off a radio mic. So, Carlito furiously asks Laleen "Is this how you beat 30 years, you piece of shit?! I oughta kill you, motherfucker! I oughta push you in the FUCKING RIVER!" and he furiously kicks Laleen's wheelchair just as Pachanga walks in. So, Pachanga on seeing what has happened pulls his gun out to shoot Laleen but Carlito pushes him out the door as Laleen shouts at Carlito in self pity.

Carlito then approaches Laleen and asks him "Who sent you?! Who sent you, motherfucker?! Answer me!" and Laleen gives in and says "The DA. The DA! He got a tip you were dealing again, big time!".  Carlito however inisists "I have been clean since I got out! I haven't made one fuckin move! Who told him that?! WHO TOLD HIM THAT?!" but Laleen insists he doesn't know. So, Carlito get's out his gun as he prepares to leave and Laleen out of self pity says "Do it, man, just fucking kill me!". Carlito then tells Laleen "I ain't gonna kill you. I ain't even gonna hurt you, man" and he walks up to him close and asks him "I ask you...how could you fuck the only people that ever cared for you??" and he grabs Laleen by his hair and pulls his head back and says "You lost, motherfucker!" and let's go of Laleen and then he walks out.

Then there is the scene where Carlito is confronted by Benny Blanco, an upcoming gangster in the drug business.  And as Benny says to Carlito "Mr Brigante, this is the second time you turned me down for a drink.  What don't you like my champagne?" and Carlito says "Hey, could be".  Then after a pause, Benny says "I don't know, but there may be some mis-fuckin'-understanding, I don't know man, but maybe you don't remember me, my name is Benny Blanco...".  However Carlito then cuts him off and says "Maybe I don't give a shit. Maybe I don't remember the last time I blew my nose either. Who the fuck are you, I should remember you? What, you think you like me? You ain't like me motherfucker. You a punk! I've been with made people, connected people. Who you been with? Chain-snatching, jive-ass, maricon motherfuckers! Why don't you get lost?  Go a head, snatch a purse. Come on, take a fuckin' walk!".  Then after Benny causes a commotion, he is dragged upstairs by Carlito's men and he tells Benny "OK, Benny Blanco, from the Bronx, the chic, Stefi, belongs to the club.  Now if I ever, if I EVER see you here again...you die!  Just like that!"

Another good scene is where Carlito has a row with Gail after she meets Kleinfeld and takes a strong dislike to him as he keeps making thinly veiled references to their "boat" trip to bust out Tony "T" from jail.  So, they go back to Gail's apartment and she argues with Carlito, pleading with him not to help Kleinfeld.

So in the scene, Gail angrily says to Carlito "Why did you make me believe all the crap about Bahamas and paradise??!  I FEEL RIDICULOUS!!  Because you haven't changed!  You haven't changed a bit!".  Carlito then says to Gail "What the fuck are you tryin' to tell me? That my gettin' out is just some bullshit fantasy trip I'm layin' on you? Is that what you're sayin'? How could you say that? How can you say that when you know how close I am? How could you say those words to me? I gotta do this, just this one thing, and then I'm out!".  Gail the angrily tells him he doesn't owe Klenfield anything and that their dream will end with him dead and that he is "bullshitting" her, which prompts Carlito to angrily smash Gail's bathroom mirror and yell "YOU'RE NOT LISTENING TO ME!" and having cut his hand his walks to the door and Gail follows him, concerned for his injury.  And Carlito tells her before he goes "Dave is my friend. I owe him. That's... ...who I am. That's what I am, right or wrong. I can't change that!".

Then there is the scene where just after Kleinfeld disposes of Tony T and his son's bodies, he and Carlito arrive back on the shore, with Carlito now really seeing Kleinfield for what he is.  And Carlito says to Kleinfield "You ripped him off, didn't you?!" and Kleinfield asks "What?" and Carlito says "Tony T.  You DID take the million dollars, didn't you?!" and Kleinfield takes a moment and with a guilty smile says "Yeah".  Carlito then looks angrily at Kleinfeld and says "You ain't a lawyer no more, Dave. You a gangster now. On the other side. A whole new ball game. You can't learn about it in school, and you can't have a late start!".  Kleinfeld then confidently says "Don't worry about me" but Carlito then tells him "One more thing: we're even" and Kleinfeld puts his hand on Carlito's shoulder, who knocks it away and shouts "SAY IT!! We're even!" and Kleinfield, shocked gives Carlito a look and says quietly "We're even" and Carlito then walks off angrily.

Another good scene is where Carlito confronts Kleinfeld in hospital over ratting him out to the DA, Norwalk as Norwalk has Kleinfeld on tape claiming Carlito is dealing again.  So, in the scene Carlito tells Kleinfeld where he has been "I've been to Nowalk's office, heard the tape..." and Kleinfeld looks guilty and says "That pig..." and Carlito angrily says "Never give up your friends, Dave, no matter what!".  And after Kleinfeld launches into an angry tirade at Carlito's code and honour and that he only has one rule and that is to save his own ass.

So, Carlito, who had taken Kleinfeld's gun places it back on Kleinfeld's bed table and says "See this? It belongs here. Not behind a pillow. This way you can reach for it quick. They come in, you ready for 'em. So long. You got a beautiful future!" and he leaves.  And in the next moment, we discover that Kleinfeld's gun was emptied by Carlito without his knowing, as Kleinfeld tries to shoot Vinnie, who walks into his room and we then see Carlito drops the bullets into a bin and he says "Adios, counsellor!" and Kleinfeld is left to his fate.

And last of all is the scene where Carlito confronts Saso in the club when his money goes missing and he storms up to Saso with grabs him and holds a flick knife up to him. So, in the scene, Carlito storms and shouts at Saso "MOTHERFUCKER! Where's my fuckin money?! You heard that Kleinfeld got whacked out, you thought I was dead too! You thought you'd inherit my money, right motherfucker?!". Carlito shouts again "WHERE'S MY MONEY?! I'LL CUT YOUR FUCKIN LIVER OUT!!" and Saso finally gives in and tells him "OK! OK! Its in the box, under the register! I was going to tell you!".

This is then followed up by Carlito being forcibly introduced to Vinnie, Tony T's son, as the two of them share an intense glare, Vinnie says to Carlito "I heard your jew lawyer met with an accident!". Carlito however dismissively tells Vinnie "Well, I have seen him lately" and as the waiter comes with a bottle champagne, Carlito uses this as an excuse to leave and says to the waiter "I thought I told you to bring the best and bring this cheap shit?" and he says to Vinnie and the other mobsters "Excuse me" and he quickly leaves.

Sean Penn is also great as the devious lawyer, David Kleinfeld, who is good friends with Carlito but he ends up getting him in serious hot water.  Penn also doesn't shirk from showing his character to be of the 1970s with his ridiculous permed hairdo!
Penn also his share of great moments in the film that include the one where Kleinfeld pleads with Carlito to help him spring Tony "T" from prison while they are at a party hosted by Kleinfeld.  And in the scene, Kleinfield suddenly notices one of his guests is getting some action from a girlfriend.  So, Kleinfeld yells at the man "Your fuckin' chick's giving you a hand-job in front of everybody! I got guests here, for Christ's sake! People are eating!".  And as the man says "Take it easy, Dave!" Kleinfeld yells back at him "You take it easy! Got any manners? You wanna fuck her, fuck like a normal human being! Take her to the bedroom!" and then he goess to get a drink and says to Carlito "People, huh?!".

Then Kleinfeld explains what he wants Carlito to do in regards to picking up Tony "T" in the waters as he intends to use his boat to get him.  Carlito then says to Kleinfeld "Dave, you're a lawyer, man.  What the fuck is happenin to you?" and Kleinfield anxiously says "I am so fucking shook up, I cannot see straight. I'm in an impossible fucking situation here. Once I get Tony on the shore...there is a distinct possibility that he and his goombah son... ...have got some plans for me".  And as Carlito asks what kind of plans, Kleinfeld tells him "How do I know he's not gonna kill me? This guy hates my guts. I'm in trouble. I am in fuckin' trouble here. You are the only fucking person on earth...that I can trust!".  And Kleinfeld asks Carlito if he is in and Carlito takes a moment and says he is and Kleinfeld then immediately hugs Carlito and says "Thank you...thank you!".

Then there is the scene where Kleinfeld holds a party at Carlito's club but he suddenly notices Gail dancing with a suave Italian and he expresses his disgust at him and Italian hoods in general.  So, Kleinfeld says to Carlito "You're gonna let this fuckin' goombah paw your woman like that?!" and Carlito says "They're just dancin.  Don't you appreciate that, the movement, the rhythm?".  However, Kleinfeld vehemently says "What I don't appreciate, he's got his fucking hands all over her ass!!" and he continues "Look at the shithead. These wise guys think they're so hard-assed. I am so sick of hoods like that...coming into my office, MY office...thinkin' they can push me around!".  And as Carlito sarcastically tells Carlito he should tell the Italian how he feels, Kleinfeld suddenly calls out to the Italian "Hey!  Hey!!  You!" and the Italian stops dancing with Gail and asks "What's that???" and Kleinfeld "Yeah, you.  Wop!".  The Italian looks taken aback and asks "Me?" and Kleinfeld grins drunkenly says "You, spaghetti dick!" and Italian says "You talkin to me?" and Kleinfeld says "Yeah, you!" but Carlito and the others soon difuse the situation.

And lastly there is the scene where Carlito confronts Kleinfeld in the hospital, where Carlito tells him he heard the tape at Norwalk's office of Kleinfeld ratting Carlito out to Norwalk.  And Kleinfeld looks guiltily but then tries to cover up by saying "They doctor these things...play them out of context.  I can't believe..." but then Carlito, who had taken Kleinfeld's guns, points it at him, prompting K to yell "Don't do that!  Fuck you!".  Kleinfeld then angrily says to Carlito "Fuck you and your self-righteous code of the goddamned street!  Did it pull you out of a thirty-year stint in five years? Did it?! No, I did! Did it get you acquitted four fucking times?! No, it didn't. I did!  So fuck you, fuck the street! Your whole goddamn world's this big and there's only one rule: you save your own ass!!". 
  
Penelope Ann Miller is pretty good (and pretty nice!) in her somewhat underwritten role as Gail, Carlito's girlfriend, with whom he reunites after he is released from jail.

I will however for time just mention Penelope's best scene in the film where Gail argues with Carlito after meeting Kleinfeld at a party and she storms out and they go back to her place and row over Carlito's involvement with Kleinfeld, whom she hates.

So in the scene, Gail enters her apartment with Carlito in tow and she says "I don't like him. I didn't like him the minute I met him!".  Then Gail asks Carlito "So what is this boat thing then? What is that asshole manipulating you into? Tell me!".  Carlito then tells her that he owes him but Gail angrily says "You owe him? He's a fucking cokehead! I can't believe you hang around with that guy. He's sick. He's gonna get you killed, or sent back to prison!".  Carlito shouts at her as she walks off to get changed out of her dress "He saved my life, Gail!" and Gail says "So now you have to pay him with it? Jesus Christ, Charlie, you give me this whole song and dance about how you're out of that shit, but you're not!".  Gail then angrily asks what Carlito dragged her into this and he asks her "Dragged you into what?!" and she replies "Why'd you make me believe all the crap about Bahamas and paradise? I feel RIDICULOUS! 'Cause you haven't changed! You haven't changed a bit!".

Then Carlito follows Gail into the bathroom as she has now changed into a dressing robe and he angrily says how he can't believe she doesn't believe in him and that he owes Kleinfeld one last favour.  Then Gail turns around and shouts "You don't owe him shit! You think you do. That's the problem. That's why nobody like you gets out. Everything you learned in the neighborhood won't do anything but get you killed!".  Carlito then tries to dismiss what she says as he says she knows nothing about his neighbourhood.

However Gail then becomes emotional and tells Carlito "I know how this dream ends. It isn't in paradise. It ends with me carrying you into Sutton Emergency Room...at 3:00 a.m. And standing there...crying like an idiot...while your shoes fill with blood and you die!".  And she starts crying and yells "COS YOU'RE BULLSHITTING ME!!  ALL YOUR TALK IS BULLSHIT!" and Carlito then angrily smashes her bathroom mirror and he goes to walk out but Gail runs after him and he tells he owes David and that he is what he is and can't change.  Gail then pleads with Carlito not to go with Kleinfeld as she gently wraps his cut hand from the mirror in his handkerchief "Whatever he wants you to do...don't do it. For me, please, don't do it. Please. Just don't do it".  However, Carlito instead walks out the door and Gail shouts after him "That's the last time I wipe up your blood!" and she slams the door.

John Leguizamo is also very good as the ambitious young gangster Benny Blacno who later proves to be Carlito's nemesis, and Benny is naturally very arrogant, and all too quick to point out who he is all the time

And Leguizamo also has his good moments such as the scene where Benny first meets Carlito while he kisses a girl over at a table in Carlito's club and he is brusque at first under he realises who Carlito is and he immediately apologies and tries to charm him into going into business with him.

So, in the scene Benny says to the girl he was kissing "Get that stupid look of your face! You know who this man is? This man here, he's the fuckin' J.P. Morgan of the smack business!".  So, Benny then tries to talk Carlito into getting involved in his drug business "I'm starting out small. I'm just building my organization. I'm refining it and maximizing my potentialities. I got my finger on some shit that's about to explode. If you can just give me two minutes...".  However Carlito is not interested and tells him "Maybe next time.  All the best to ya" however Benny continues "Just two minutes of your time" and Carlito says "I'll talk to you again" and he walks off.  This leave Benny looking frustrated as he calls out to Carlito "Just two minutes!  That's all".

And lastly there is the moment where Benny confronts Carlito at the club for turning down his champagne and for not sending over his moll, Steffie (Ingrid Rogers).  So in the scene Benny walks over to Carlito says "This is the second time you turned me down for a drink. You don't like my champagne?" and Carlito tells him "Could be".  So, Benny tries again "Maybe there's a mis-fucking-understanding. Maybe you don't remember me...." and Carlito shuts Benny down and tells he doesn't give a shit who he is and he should get lost.  So, Benny then becomes angry and says "The only problem here is that Steffie doesn't know where she belongs" but Carlito holds Steffie back from going with Benny.  So, Benny says "I think Steffie is making a big FUCKIN MISTAKE!" and he lunges forward to grab her but Benny is pulled off her by Carlito's men and dragged up the stairs.

So, Carlito along with his bodyguard Pachanga and another men take Benny upstairs and Carlito warns Benny to stay away from the club and if he shows up again he will die.  Benny then looks at Carlito angrily and tells him "You're over, man. You're fuckin' in the history books. So you might as well kill me now, 'cause if I ever see you again, I'm gonna kill you!".  Carlito then suddenly hits Benny in anger, who falls down a flight of stairs and he is taken out back by Pachanga to await his fate.

Luis Guzman is also excellent as Carlito's right hand man and bodyguard, Pachanga, who watches over Carlito but towards the end his loyalties seem to drift away from Carlito.

And Luis has his good scenes also that include the one where Pachanga first meets up with Carlito again on the old neighbourhood streets.  So, Pachanga tells Carlito "Carlito, man, Death Valley out here, man. Mira, you know me, I take to the street with any of these motherfuckers, man. But these new kids nowadays, man, they got no respect for human life. They shotgun you, just to see you fly up in the air. 'Chacho, you're better off in jail. I don't even go up to black Harlem no more. They're fuckin' crazy up there".

Then there is the scene where Pachanga at the club goes up to Carlito, having just learned about the drug deal incident that happened a month ago.  So, Pachanga, concerned says "I heard about that shit with your cousin. Why didn't you call me so I could watch your ass?" and Carlito tells him "That happened a month ago.  You just found out?".  Pachanga then complains about Carlito making him watch out for Kleinfeld "You got me chasin' Kleinberg in the daytime and then you got me here..." and Carlito becomes annoyed at Pachanga mispronouncing Kleinfeld's name "Feld!  Kleinfeld! I hope you are doing a better job with him than me!".  Pachanga however then tells Carlito "The guy got a lot of money. He got a safe in the office with stacks of hundreds just waitin'..." and Carlito interrupts and angrily says "Hey!  Kleinfeld is my brother!  Look at me!  He is my brother".  Pachanga then says "Pachanga's only fuckin around!" and Carlito tells him "Don't fuck around, just keep your eyes open. Watch the bar.  They're stealin money in here!" and Pachanga complains "I wanna try, but it's so dark in here. What do you want me to do?!".

Then there is the scene where Carlito has his altercation with Benny in the club and knocks him down a flight of stairs.  And Pachanga takes Benny down the stairs outside in a back alley to shoot him and Pachanga excitedly says to Carlito "Let's put him in the trunk of the car and drive him off the pier! It ain't that far. Down the block. It'd be like the old days. Be fun, papi! Be fun!" however Carlito then decides to let Benny go, leaving Pachanga shocked and saying "WHAT?!".

And last of all is the scene near the end where (SPOILER!!!!) Benny shoots Carlito at the train station and he stands over Carlito as he falls down and we see suddenly see Pachanga stand next to him as he has clearly switched sides.  And Pachanga tells Carlito "No hard feelings, Carlito. But I got to think about my future, too. You know, it be's that way sometimes, papi" and he says to Benny "Come on, let's go" however Benny then says "No, you stay here" and shoots Pachanga and runs off.

James Rebhorn is very good as the DA, Bill Norwalk, who is investigating Carlito and also keeps a close eye on Kleinfeld.

And Rebhorn best scene comes when he has Carlito brough to Norwalk's office, who tells him about Kleinfeld's duplicitous activities.  So, Norwalk tells Carlito "David Kleinfeld became a very big fish while you were gone. Even bigger than you. He's dirty. Money laundering, jury tampering, bribery. We've been after him for some time now".  Norwalk then plays a tape recording of Norwalk speaking to Kleinfeld, who tells him that Carlito is back dealing again.  Norwalk after tells Carlito "We don't believe him. Word on the street is you've been clean since you came out of prison. Kleinfeld's the one we're after. He was right. I'd never get an indictment with what I had.  But now, with your help...we can put this filth away for a long time".

Carlito however denies his knowledge of Tony "T" or that he had anything to do with helping Kleinfeld dispose of Tony "T" and Tony's son's bodies in the river.  However, Norwalk refuses to believe him and angrily tells Carlito "All right, here's the deal. If you were on that boat, and I know goddamn well you were...testify against Kleinfeld for first-degree murder. You'll receive complete immunity and a couple airline tickets to the Bahamas. You wanna get even with Kleinfeld? Here it is on a silver platter!".

Carlito however continues to deny any knowledge of what Norwalk has told him.  So, Norwalk stands up from his desk and walks over to Carlito and firmly tells him "Let me tell you somethin', Mr. Convicted Dope Peddler...if we can guess you were on that boat, how long do you think it will be before the Italians figure it out?! What if they get to Kleinfeld? They can twist his arm. You think he won't give you up? Think again!".  Carlito then looks blankly at Norwalk and says "That it?" and Norwalk annoyed at Carlito's continued ignorance tells him "I wanna hear from you by noon tomorrow. You think you're gonna sail off into the sunset, asshole? Think again!".

Joseph Siravo is probably the weak link in the cast here but he does not too badly in his role as the son of the mob boss, Tony "T", Vinnie, who is out for revenge after his father and brother are murdered by Kleinfeld.  Siravo would of course then go on to appear in The Sopranos as Tony Soprano's father, Johnny, who was formerly the boss of the New Jersey crime family before his death.

And Siravo still has some good moments too that include the one where, Vinnie turns up at the hospital, dressed as a policeman and he eyes Carlito leaving Kleinfeld's room, so after that he goes up to the policeman on guard outside Kleinfeld's room and tells him "Quittin time!".  And the officer says to Vinnie "You're early" and Vinnie says "Yeah, a few minutes" and he spots the officer's newspaper and says "You finished with your paper?" and the officer hands it over "Its all yours" and Vinnie takes it and says "Thanks" and as the officer leaves he says "Be good".  Vinnie then conceals his silenced gun in the paper and knocks on Kleinfeld's door and he says "Mr Kleinfeld" and he walks in.  And Vinnie says "There's a delivery for you, Mr Kleinfeld" and Kleinfeld cautiously asks "From who?" and Vinnie then produces his gun and says "From my father and my brother!" and as Kleinfeld tries his gun, he discovers it to be empty and Vinnie exacts revenge and shoots Kleinfeld in the head.

Then there is the scene where Vinnie turns up at Carlito's club as they are very suspicious of his involvement with Kleinfeld, so Carlito nervously tries to evade them but he is soon met by Vinnie's mob associates and soon Vinnie.  And one of Vinnie's associates, Pete Amadesso (Richard Foronjy) introduces Vinnie to Carlito and Vinnie says "I heard your jew lawyer met with an accident" and Carlito lies "Well, I haven't seen him lately" and he uses the waiter bringing over cheap champagne as an excuse to escape.  And Vinnie then angrily tries to go for Carlito but Pete stops him ""Ain't seen him lately!" The lyin' fuck! - Seen him in the hospital, Pete!". 

And lastly there is the moment where Carlito flees the club through a trap door underneath the bar area and as Vinnie keeps looking out for Carlito to come up again from the bar, he suddenly get's up and rushes over to the bar and sees Carlito is gone and says "That little fuckin spic bastard!".  So, Vinnie goes behind the bar and pushes the waiter aside, who tells he can't back there, and Vinnie yells "Get the fuck out of here!".  Vinnie sees the trap door and opens it and looks through it and they then go outside and spot Carlito running away, so Vinnie shouts "There he is!  Come on!" and they begin their lengthy chase of Carlito to Grand central station. 

Jorge Porcel next is also good too as Saso, aka "Ron" from Ranaldo.  Porcel himself actually could not speak English very well, so for his part in the film De Palma had to resort to using a series of written cue cards with Porcel's lines of them.

I will mention only a couple of Porcel's scenes starting with the one where Saso reacts in surprise at Carlito turning down Benny's request for champagne.  So, Saso says to Carlito "Please, you can't do this. Benny spends a lot of money here" but Carlito dismissively says "Come on, he's a nicklebagger!".  Saso then tells Carlito "What happened to you? What are you acting like this for? It doesn't make sense you should hate this guy. This guy is you 20 years ago!" but Carlito tells Saso "Never me.  Never me!".

And last of all is the scene where Saso talks with Carlito privately about Pachanga's disgruntlement with Carlito's behaviour.  And Saso talks in Spanish to Carlito "Listen to me carefully, Carlito. Rudy says Pachanga is complaining about being broke; that he doesn't have a single dollar. He's also saying that you're a piece of shit, and that you don't have the balls to take care of the problem; and he's wasted a lot of time without making any money. Besides, I hear he's spying on us for Benny Blanco".  So, Carlito responds in Spanish "Let me deal with Pachanga.  He's my brother" but Saso angrily responds also in Spanish "He's your brother? That son of a bitch would kill his mother for money!".  Carlito then says in English "Most people will!" and he concludes their discussion in Spanish "See you in the morning".  

Viggo Mortensen next up is excellent in his role as the wheelchair bound gangster, Lalin, who was once formerly a suave, handsome guy, who set up Carlito's crew with ladies as well get involved in his deals.  And the role showcases Viggo's talents as an actor and in this role his performance is a far cry from his Legolas from Lord of the Rings. 

And Viggo only has one main scene but its a great one where Lalin shows up at Carlito's club and unbeknownst to Carlito at first, Lalin is wearing a wire as he was sent by Norwalk to feel out Carlito to see if he was dealing again.

So, in the scene Carlito greets Lalin in his office and Lalin tells him why he is in the wheelchair "I took a few in the back.  When the street's mad, she doesn't put you in a box, she puts you in one of these things!".  And Carlito asks Lalin "You wanna a drink?" and Lalin tells him "Like you wouldn't believe!" and Carlito closes the blinds in his office, so they talk privately.

So, after a bit, Lalin then starts to try and feel out if Carlito is back dealing and he says "Listen, I'm in with some new people now. Unos italianos, t sabes. They trust you. They think you're a fuckin' guinea".  Carlito then briefly plays along and asks "Where they from?  Plesant avenue?" and Laleen tells him "No, downtown.  Anyway, they got the money. They got a lot of money. Some heavy paper. They go up to $25,000 for a key, if it's good shit, you know. They want regular street people, gente del barrio. Old school all the way!".

However, Carlito then tells Lalin that he isn't connected anymore and he silently grabs a knife and holds it to Lalin's throat and he pulls back the top of his shirt and sees a wear taped inside his shirt and he pulls it off Laleen, disgusted.  Carlito then says "This how you beat your 30 years, you piece of shit?!  I oughta kill you!  I oughta push you in the FUCKING RIVER!" and Pachanga then comes in and finds out what's going on and attempts to shoot Lalin but Carlito shoves him out the office.

Lalin then explains to Carlito tearfully "Look what I got! I mean look at me! You got everything, man! Come on! Look what I got to fucking go around with, fucking diapers! I shit my pants everyday! I can't walk, I can't hump... you know? Go ahead and kill me, you COCKSUCKER!".  Carlito then goes up to Laleen and asks him "Who sent you?!  Who sent you, motherfucker?!  Answer me!" and Lalin tells him "The DA.  The DA!  He's got a hardon for you, man.  He got a tip that you were dealin again, big time!".

And last of all is Frank Minucci as the mob boss, Tony "T" who threatens Kleinfeld with his life if he doesn't bust him out of prison barge he is held at.

And Minucci only has two scenes but I will mention his main one (as the other is just him bobbing in the water waiting to be picked up Kleinfeld) where Tony meets with Kleinfeld at the prison barge and he is apparently unwell as he is coughing constantly.

So, in the scene Tony "T" says to Kleinfeld "I never liked you, Kleinfeld. Not 'cause you're a Jew. I know plenty of Jews. It's 'cause you're a lyin' piece of shit. Now, I give you a million bucks to make a simple payoff and nothin' happens!".  Kleinfeld however tries to bluff Tony "T" who is having none of it and he interrupts Kleinfeld saying "You look at my hands! Now, you make me raise my voice and I'll snap your neck like a bread stick! You fuckin' phony! What do you take me for? Nicky never saw dollar one of my money. My million bucks went straight into your pockets!".  So, Kleinfeld tries to deny this and says "I personally..." but this makes Tony "T" even angrier, who says "Don't fuckin' lie to me, you scumbag. You lie to me again, you're gonna end up in that river out there. You think about this when you go out, and you'll take a look down and imagine what it'll feel like, slidin' around down the bottom with eels and crabs crawlin' outta your eyeballs!".

Then after this Tony "T" tells Kleinfeld he wants him to bust him out of the prison by using Kleinfeld's boat to pick him up and he is to be watched by Tony's son, Frank (Adrian Pasdar) on the night of the breakout.  However as Kleinfeld is reluctant to help out, Tony "T" lays down a brutal ultimatum to him and says "The contract's already down on you, pal. The guys, the guns, the LIME pit's already dug. You understand? And from in here, just one button I push!".

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

Finally moving onto the director of the film, Brian De Palma does an excellent job here as he is an expert at cranking up tension and creating thrillers in general.  And the aforementioned scenes of Carlito tensely waiting out what to do during the botched drug deal near the start and the Grand Central station chase scene with the mob are both great examples of De Palma's ability to create suspensful sequences.


De Palma also employs his usual great visual sense here too in the film with his excellent use of composition of placing his actors within the frame and also using askew camera angles in certain scenes to give them a unique look.  So, overall this remains one of De Palma's best directorial efforts in his career.

As for the original music score by Patrick Doyle, its excellent and its a very impressively orchestrated soundtrack, which perfectly suits the tone of the film and it also features its share of suspenseful sequences.  In short this is one of Doyle's best scores out of his impressive career which also has seen him score films such as Donnie Brasco (another Pacino movie) Henry V, Hamlet and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. 

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!) 

As for flaws....yeah OK, Carlito's Way still has a few.

And I would have to say one of its main flaws is to with Carlito's almost naive trust in those around him, particularly with Kleinfed, who despite getting him released from prison, betrays him to the DA and nearly gets him killed by the mafia.  Yet throughout we can see how blatantly devious he is, and Carlito must be putting on some serious blinders to it, either or that or just maybe he's not too bright when it comes to putting faith into his unreliable friends.  Also as the film progresses we see that Carlito's attitude towards Kleinfeld does change from overawed respect to cynicism, and by the time he gets to the boat ride, he has almost gone off him entirely, which at that point makes you wonder why he even did it!

And further to this point when Carlito is taken to Norwalk's office, he is played the tape of Kleinfeld lying to Norwalk about Carlito dealing again, and at this stage he knows Kleinfeld is a devious, dirty guy yet he STILL insists on going to confront Kleinfeld at the hospital to confirm it!  I mean at this stage does he really need to do that???!  Carlito already knows that Kleinfeld betrayed him, so why bother go to the hospital as all it does is put his life in immediate danger as he is spotted by Vinnie, who later catches him out lying at the club about him not seeing Kleinfeld lately. 

Carlito also has the same blind loyalty to his bodyguard Pachanga, who at the end of the film (SPOILER!!) is revealed to have betrayed him as well to Benny Blanco, in promise for getting rich off the young gangster, who instead just kills Pachanga and runs off.  I guess Pachanga shouldn't have tried to kill Benny at the club that night Carlito ejected him from the club, eh?!  
 
I would also have to say that the majority of Carlito's scenes where he tries to rekindle his relationship with Gail are also a bit tedious and slow the film down a bit although their big argument scene over Klenfield is still one of the best in the film.  This probably boils down to the fact that Gail's character is somewhat underwritten and she acts basically as love interest to Carlito and is given little to do other than that.

The film also has some unintentionally funny moments in it such as the one where Vinnie and his mob associates chase down Carlito at Grand central station.  And there is that cheesy moment where they lose sight of Carlito as he tries to evade them going down a flight of stairs.  However, Vinnie with his eagle eyes suddenly spots him and shouts out "There he is!" as the man start to chase him again.  Its certainly one of the silliest moments in the film.

I also have to say that I found the idea of Carlito deftly emptying Kleinfeld's gun of bullets a bit daft also as surely that is something that would be incredibly hard to conceal from someone and the film doesn't exactly do a good job of convincing you of it either. However of course Carlito earlier on in the film boasts how he is a great at pool trick shots, so I guess by that same rationale, he can stealthily unload a six shooter without Kleinfeld guessing! However it still doesn't sit right for me personally as surely Kleinfeld should have noticed something when Carlito would have unloaded the bullets.

And last of all, I have to say I found it incredibly naive and stupid of Kleinfeld that he could possibly have thought that killing Tony T and his son, wouldn't come back to him! I mean the Mafia know who this guy is and they know that he ripped them off, which already has put him in a bad spot but he then decides to commit a cardinal sin by murdering a mob boss and his son to get out of it and think there would be no direct repurcusions?!

And to top it all off, the following morning, all Kleinfeld does is go back to work and yeah OK, he does hire a bodyguard I will give him that but was it really a good idea for him to go back to his work??!! I mean surely to God, he should have fled the country and made for the hills (so to speak) to try and get as far away from the mob as he could but nope, he stupidly goes back to work where he is an open target! Kleinfeld might aswell have painted a bullseye on his forehead so the Mafia could figure out just where to place the bullet! So, for all his devious dealings in the end, Kleinfeld really isn't that bright!

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, in summing up "Carlito's Way" after 26 years is still an excellent crime thriller and its funny to think that it wasn't that well received on its initial release given how solid the film's cast, direction and script are.However over time, this film is finally now getting the recognition that it deserves and that of course can often be the case with certain films with The Shawshank Redemption being another, which was not well received on its release either but then came onto being realised as a classic.

And I would definitely say if you like your crime thrillers then Carlito's Way still remains a very solid one and one of the best of its time.

Right, so that's it for now