Not bad, not good...been there done that perfectly describes Judgment Night.
And, in this case, that's perfectly fine. This is a pretty good time waster that contains several scenes of mild to moderate suspense. It involves four friends going down the wrong alley in order to take a short cut to a boxing match only to witness a murder, and run from the thugs responsible.
The film's main protagonists each have their own unique qualities, but unfortunately, none of them are fleshed out enough for us to really care about them. Emilio plays the guy beginning to mature with married life, Stephen Dorff plays his younger, hot headed brother who talks more trash than he delivers, Cuba Gooding plays Emilio's best friend who apparently has insecurity issues when it comes to people messing with him and people not covering his back (this poor characterization is culminized as you watch Cuba's horrible overacting) and of course, the great, loquacious and always facetious Jeremy Piven plays the role of the sleazeball con-man perfect to a 'T'. Unfortunately, of these characters, you really feel for none of them as they are not fleshed out beyond their stereotypes.
The real standout, of course, is Denis Leary...he is truly one convincing bad guy in this film...a force of pure determined hatred, that will stop at nothing to kill the guys. Of everyone, Leary is the only one who does not overact, he is completely natural in this role, and though he is given little to do with the script but spout out cheesy, yet oddly effective taunts at the four, he is a menacing presence nonetheless.
The echoes this film has with Deliverance are amazing...but to list them would be to list key spoilers, and I don't want to do that. Overall, this movie is nothing new, but it plays old and clichéd material very well.
(VERY MINOR SPOILER)
I will say that the biggest complaint of all that I had was with Emilio's change of character right after his role morphed into heart of darkness mode, and Leary's character is in peril (involving him asking for help)...that one scene was so unbelievably cliché and out of place it wasn't even funny.
(END OF VERY MINOR SPOILER)
However, Judgment Night is pretty good entertainment that is carried by a solid, and believable villain, only to be brought down by subpar performances from actors that usually deliver better. Therefore, I have to give it a 7 out of 10 stars which isn't bad; a film I consider almost above average...Leary alone carried this film, and with better acting of the main leads, this would have scored much much higher. At any rate, this is the perfect film to catch on a Sunday afternoon on cable with nothing else to do. That is my story, and I am sticking to it.
And, in this case, that's perfectly fine. This is a pretty good time waster that contains several scenes of mild to moderate suspense. It involves four friends going down the wrong alley in order to take a short cut to a boxing match only to witness a murder, and run from the thugs responsible.
The film's main protagonists each have their own unique qualities, but unfortunately, none of them are fleshed out enough for us to really care about them. Emilio plays the guy beginning to mature with married life, Stephen Dorff plays his younger, hot headed brother who talks more trash than he delivers, Cuba Gooding plays Emilio's best friend who apparently has insecurity issues when it comes to people messing with him and people not covering his back (this poor characterization is culminized as you watch Cuba's horrible overacting) and of course, the great, loquacious and always facetious Jeremy Piven plays the role of the sleazeball con-man perfect to a 'T'. Unfortunately, of these characters, you really feel for none of them as they are not fleshed out beyond their stereotypes.
The real standout, of course, is Denis Leary...he is truly one convincing bad guy in this film...a force of pure determined hatred, that will stop at nothing to kill the guys. Of everyone, Leary is the only one who does not overact, he is completely natural in this role, and though he is given little to do with the script but spout out cheesy, yet oddly effective taunts at the four, he is a menacing presence nonetheless.
The echoes this film has with Deliverance are amazing...but to list them would be to list key spoilers, and I don't want to do that. Overall, this movie is nothing new, but it plays old and clichéd material very well.
(VERY MINOR SPOILER)
I will say that the biggest complaint of all that I had was with Emilio's change of character right after his role morphed into heart of darkness mode, and Leary's character is in peril (involving him asking for help)...that one scene was so unbelievably cliché and out of place it wasn't even funny.
(END OF VERY MINOR SPOILER)
However, Judgment Night is pretty good entertainment that is carried by a solid, and believable villain, only to be brought down by subpar performances from actors that usually deliver better. Therefore, I have to give it a 7 out of 10 stars which isn't bad; a film I consider almost above average...Leary alone carried this film, and with better acting of the main leads, this would have scored much much higher. At any rate, this is the perfect film to catch on a Sunday afternoon on cable with nothing else to do. That is my story, and I am sticking to it.