Must See Movie...

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

A convicted felon is used as a substitute for a drug dealer by law enforcement in an attempt to trade for an undercover officer being held by a drug baron. All the clichés are there, crooked cops, clueless felon, hairy bikers, sociopath drug baron, innocent child victim, Judas friend and a bad girl seeking redemption. This one has the whole lineup. Not particularly believable story with a plot line that does not really hang together particularly well and really lacks substance. Not a bad movie that I would ridicule people for participating in but it is definitely a straight to DVD B-Grader.How the mighty have fallen, from the Matrix to this for Laurence Fishburne, who would have to recognize he is on the way down if he is taking on projects of this caliber. Olivia Wilde on the other hand is stunning, although more than a little lacking in emotive range and is hopefully using this as a vehicle on the way up as she develops.I am beginning to suspect Paul Walker only has one character in his range and I just hope he makes enough money off that before the gravy train derails. This is worth watching but set the bar low before you start, and savor Olivia Wilde's eyes because that is about the best thing that is going to happen on screen in this piece of cinema.

I was toggling back & forth between the Wisconsin Badgers Football season opener & this movie on DVR AND IT WAS COMPELLING ENOUGH that for awhile I forgot to flip back to the game!!! So obviously I have no idea why this audience-tested badly or why people think Paul Walker can't act. Plus he's got a great cast to back him up...The mystery of why this was going down hooked me early & I cared about what happened to these people (at least the good guys) For the girl-watchers out there ~ Olivia Wild is jaw-droppingly GORGEOUS!! I Can't believe I've seen movies with her in them before & not noticed!!! Definitely worth the rental price if you have to go that route.

The mere idea of having a man serving time to impersonate a notorious drug dealer who is in Thailand running away from justice is preposterous, to put it mildly! How do the creators of "The Death and Life and Bobby Z" ever thought, for reality sake, to be able to even think that by sending the former marine, now a con man, into the lion's den without at one point being discovered as a fake? The whole thing is the idea of a corrupt law enforcement officer who thinks he will use the former marine to get at the kingpin of the drug empire who supplied the original Bobby Z with his merchandise.The movie is not totally horrible, as action films go. The main problem is the many plot holes in the narrative that the creators probably didn't count on, or thought their viewers wouldn't figure out how the whole mess was going to turn out. John Herzfeld directed the screen play by Bob Krakower and Allan Lawrence. The credibility gap is huge when the people involved asks us to accept things that don't make too much sense.If you can buy the fact that Elizabeth would not know who the impostor was right away, then there is no problem enjoying this film that from all indication went straight to video.Paul Walker is the action hero. The problem with his acting that he doesn't show any credible emotion. An uncredited Bruce Dern is the narrator that gives us an account of Bobby Z's accomplishments in that la-la land of Southern California. Joaquim de Almeida plays another one of his bad guys. Laurence Fishburne has nothing to play with. Gorgeous Olivia Wilde appears as Elizabeth, Bobby Z's former girlfriend. Keith Carradine has a small part.

While it's no worse than much of the action movie junk that makes it to theatres, Bobby Z, originally entitled The Death and Life of Bobby Z, is a action thriller with Tim Kearney (Walker) as our hero. Kearney is a convict who's an ex-Marine and clearly not so much a bad person as one who has frequently found himself in trouble due to circumstance rather than intent. This gives director John Herzfeld, whose own career hacs been on less than an up-tick since the appropriately named 15 Minutes came and went in about that long, a premise for having a good guy hero who still fits the label of a tough convict.The slightly convoluted storyline sees Kearney – whose life is in peril since he killed a biker gang boss in prison (self defence, of course) – offered an opportunity to walk free, as long as he's willing to impersonate a drug kingpin who happens to look just like Kearney, and who has just died. Fishburne plays the Drug Enforcement Agency cop who puts Kearney up to this task.Before you can say 'gunfights are fun', Kearney is being shot at by the cops, manhandled by Mexican drug thugs, pursued by the bikers, and generally in demand by everyone, regardless of whether they think he's Kearney or Bobby Z. Our hero, of course, dodges the bullets, battles the bad guys, befriends Bobby Z's son (who has never met his dad) and romances a beautiful woman (Olivia Wilde) whose relationship with the bad guys is a bit hazy, but clearly quite intimate.Filled with head scratching twists and cornball dialogue, this is not exactly a brilliant film. Yet it's got a slick look and at least a few passably enjoyable action scenes. And Walker, while never likely to be mistaken for a Shakespearian thespian, has the good looks and charisma to lead the way here. At least his character isn't loaded down with as many stupidly threatening lines as Fishburne's. Wilde also does a passable job as Kearney's conflicted love interest; she's mainly called upon to look good (which she accomplishes rather easily), but also doesn't muff her lines when she does have something to say.Movie was funny, entertaining and I enjoyed it.