It's a crime that, in this day and age, a shitty Al Pacino flick that sat on a shelf for two years (88 Minutes) gets 2000+ screens, but VICE (starring Michael Madsen & Daryl Hannah) currently has only 28 screens (only one of which is in NYC).
Detective Max Walker (Madsen) was once a highly respected cop until he lost his wife and his life unraveled. Haunted by her memory and harboring his rage, Walker has nothing left to lose. He is a loose cannon waiting for an excuse to explode.
A drug bust operation goes awry. A large haul of heroin is discovered by Walker and his team; including Salt (Hannah) and Sampson (Williamson). The bust attracts a great deal of heat after several people are killed and one gang member escapes from the scene.
Murder and mayhem ensue. The officers involved in the bust are being killed off one by one. No cop is safe. With no suspects in sight, a bewildered Walker joins forces with Salt to investigate the slaughter of his team.
What follows is a series of twists, intrigue and foul play. When it is discovered that some drugs from the bust went missing the cops start to look amongst themselves for the killer. Trust is compromised, comradeship dissolves and friends turn their guns on one another until the last man is standing and the truth is revealed.
Madsen said in an interview on Opie & Anthony that it is one of the top five movies he's done. Madsen may never had become an A-List actor, but when you look at the flicks he's been in, that top five is an impressive spot.
You can see the trailer here.
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ReplyDeleteYou didn't just go to bat for this movie, and pick on 88 Minutes to make your point.
First of all: "Shitty Al Pacino Flick"
Shitty? I saw it. I liked it. Granted it was a bootleg that my cousin got from God Knows Where 2 years ago, but still. I can't imagine the theatrical version was that different.
Al Pacino versus Madsen and Hannah. No Contest. The best thing Madsen did was play Mr. Blonde. Everything Pacino does is "Mr. Blonde" good.
I saw the promo for Vice. Sure, I wish i could make a movie with even that budget, but let's be realistic. Those cheap sets and C-List and lower level acotrs? That is strictly straight to video fare.
My point? Don't pick on Pacino.
The Pacino that can't deliver a line without screaming it? The one who's primarily been in shitty movies for years now? I shouldn't make fun of him in a movie that the studio realized was so shitty that they spent two years figuring out where they should dump it in the schedule?
ReplyDeleteSets and name actors don't make movies good or bad. You seem to agree on Reservoir Dogs being a great flick. Almost the entirety of that flick was in a simple warehouse and it was populated with B and C list actors.