Roadshow Entertainment/Roadshow Entertainment .
R4 . COLOR . 88 mins .
M15+ . PAL
Feature
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Matty (Barry Pepper) is seeking a job as a sports journalist. He is down to his last chance and the interview is going well. That is until he mentions his surname and the interviewer questions if he is related to mobster Benny “Chains” – his father. This situation has happened repeatedly as Matty struggles to find a career outside of crime, but without success. Matty is not desperate to avoid crime, in fact he would be more than happy to work for his father, but his father is reluctant to employ his son, feeling he lacks the courage required, all based on the thoughts of his trusted offsider Teddy (John Malkovich).
Matty is finally given a chance to prove himself. Using his cousin Marbles (Seth Green), who owns his own light plane, Matty convinces his father that he can get a bag of money across state lines undetected. Marbles is told to only stop for gas and to not leave the bag unattended, of course it would be a very short film if it all went to plan wouldn’t it? So, Marbles picks up the bag of cash and on his return flight home, he decides to stop for gas, landing in the isolated town of Wibeax, Montana. Keeping the bag in his possession at all times, he panics when he sees two cops in the airport. He drops the bag in a pile of cases awaiting departure in the hope of picking it up on his way back. Of course, when he returns the bag is gone.
Do I look guilty?
Matty decides to call in a couple of his friends and head to the town to recover the money. Handsome womaniser Chris (Andrew Davoli) and Taylor (Vin Diesel) accompany Matty to the town and find the money is now in the hands of a couple of crooked cops. Taylor flexes his muscles as only he can and the foursome set about constructing a plan to get the money and prove to Matty’s father they can carry out jobs successfully. The Knockaround Guys are so-called because they have to live their lives in the shadows of their fathers, continually being judged by their bloodline rather than their own achievements. Their main goal in life appears to be breaking free from that image, recovering the cash and completing the job being a good start.
After doing very little to set the box office alight, in fact many may have not even noticed its appearance at the cinema, Knockaround Guys makes its way to DVD. With big names in the cast such as Vin Diesel, Seth Green, Dennis Hopper and John Malkovich, one has to wonder why this film failed to make it. So you could say my expectations weren’t too high when I sat down to watch this film, really knowing very little about it apart from its impressive cast. It turned out to be quite an enjoyable film. It doesn’t rate up there with standard gangster films such as Goodfellas, but it is still an entertaining diversion. Granted it may not have been as enjoyable without the inclusion of such well known actors, but it is well produced and directed.
Lesser known actors Barry Pepper (The Green Mile, We Were Soldiers) and Andrew Davoli (Welcome to Collinwood) give impressive performances in leading roles, but it is the better known stars here that steal the show. John Malkovich plays a villain as only he can and Dennis Hopper’s class shines through. Personally it was the performances of Seth Green (Buffy, Austin Powers, The Italian Job) and Vin Diesel (xXx, The Fast and the Furious) that were standouts. Their characters are not too different from roles they have played previously, but when you do something so well, why change it?
Vin looking buff as ever.
Basically this is an enjoyable film. The performances are all very good and it is technically very good. It is certainly not the best film in this genre ever made but is also far from being the worst. The storyline flows quite well with a good mix of humour and violence and as long as your expectations are not too high, you should find this an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours.
Video
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Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and 16:9 enhanced, there is little to find fault with in this wonderful transfer. Grain is non existent, colours are natural and clean, shadow detail is spot on and aliasing is mostly a welcome absentee. There are the occasional film artefacts in the form of dirt, but these are hardly noticeable in an otherwise quality transfer.
Subtitles are supplied in English and Greek and the English ones viewed were accurate to the spoken word on-screen. The layer change occurs at 42:12 in between scenes and causes little disruption.
Audio
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There are two choices of audio for this release, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks, both in English. The DD 5.1 track is the track of choice although there is little to find fault with in the DD 2.0 track, which is slightly lacking in fullness. Dialogue is clear throughout.
Surround use is extensive, with rear and side channel activity for music ambience and directional effect. The subwoofer gets a decent workout as well to add a little oomph to sound effects as required.
Extras
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There are a couple of nice extras with this release.
Filmmaker Commentary
Commentary is supplied by co-writers and directors Brian Koppelman and David Levion. The commentary offers some interesting information about the production of the film and what they were trying to achieve. It is supplied in Dolby Digital 2.0.
Alternate and Deleted Scenes
Contained here are four scenes with the option to play individually or altogether. They are also available with commentary giving an explanation on why the scenes were removed from the final feature. Total running time is 11:12 with all scenes in the same aspect ratio as the main feature and featuring DD 5.1 audio. The available commentary is only in DD 2.0 though, the same as the commentary on the main feature.
Theatrical Trailer
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and 16:9 enhanced, this trailer also offers DD 5.1 audio. With a total running time of 13:12 it has to be one of the longest trailers available and a nice addition.
Overall
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Overall this is definitely worth a screening and will no doubt be popular based on the cast alone. It is refreshing to see actors play supporting roles when they can so easily choose starring roles. Video and audio are both of a very high standard and the extras supplied are of decent quality. Well worth a look if you are a fan of this genre or any of the cast.
"Vin Diesel in a movie showing off his muscles, Seth Green being his usual funny self, John Malkovich being a bad guy. No complaints here!" - Adrian Turvey