Rent The Asphalt Jungle on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: Ben Maddow and John Huston (screen play), W.R. Burnett (from a novel by)
Directed by: John Huston
Starring: Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire
Rated: Approved [PG]
Watch the trailer
Plot
A major heist goes off as planned, but then double crosses, bad luck, and solid police work cause everything to unravel.
Verdict
I'm sure it was a good movie at the time, but it befalls the same problem
as most movies from the early 20th century, I don't find the pacing
and characterization engaging. The concept is perfectly fine, but everything is stilted and
static. Most scenes are the characters standing or sitting and just talking. There is so little action and even less tension. Even during the heist, it
never felt intense or dangerous.
Skip it.
Review
This has a great setup that unfortunately doesn't deliver. Doc is just out of prison and already planning a big heist. He recruits a team for the job, but this is heavy on the setup and slow on the action. There's so much dialog with characters sitting around and doing nothing.
All of these guys have a reason why the audience wouldn't trust them. We can guess this heist is going to encounter problems. That's supposed to drive tension, but all I could imagine is how different this would be if done today. It would have a lot more action and excitement.
 |
| Sam Jaffe, Sterling Hayden, James Whitmore play Doc, Dix, Gus |
The fixer Doc contacts happens to be broke and looking to double cross the crew. We're an hour in before we get to the heist, and even that doesn't feel as dangerous and daring as you'd expect. The big issue with the movie is the difference in pacing and story telling from 1950 to 2000. Movies are made differently and have a different focus. These characters are flat, existing to further the plot.
The job doesn't work out as expected and the crew is forced to scramble. They have dreams of riches and none of them get what they wanted.
I generally don't like older movies for the reasons I've mentioned, but I do appreciate film history. This movie is likely a forbearer of Ocean's Eleven. Movies have come a long way, and that's because film is always innovating.
No comments :
Post a Comment