Reservoir Boys...

This caper movie is about a group of young wannabe gangsters who grew up in the tough streets of New York as sons of mob guys. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your point of view, they don't have the stones to be like their fathers and uncles. After some convincing, they are allowed one assignment... to go and pick up a bag full of cash and deliver it back to the city. We follow them to a remote town in Montana and watch as they screw up this simplest of tasks and try to fix the problem themselves.

A lot of the roles are poorly cast. Dennis Hopper and John Malkovich (who crucifies yet another accent) are typically very good in tough guy roles... but they didn't translate well as mafia bigwigs. They seem cartoonish and non-threatening in this film. Seth Green has always and will always be a child... his one and only character is becoming tiresome and seems very out of place in anything other than a bad teen comedy. Oh, and what's with Barry Pepper looking like John Travolta from Grease for the last half of the movie?

The only one who seems to fit the bill to a tee is Vin Diesel. Now, I don't think he is much of a leading man. He doesn't have nearly enough charisma or personality to carry a film. However, he is very good as the tough sidekick-guy who can steal a scene or two. I think he can flourish in roles like this one.

I suppose the film moves swiftly enough, even if it is toward a clichéd and predictable ending. 'Knockaround Guys' is a decent film with lots of minor flaws. It's not the kind of film you'll regret wasting two hours on, but it is one that will slip from the memory banks all too quickly.

© Written by TC Candler

How We Rated This Film TC Candler - C+ Richard Propes - C+ Jacob Hall -

Richard Propes' Comment

n/a

Jacob Hall's Comment

n/a