Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

When I first saw this film, I neither knew nor cared who the Coen Brothers or Sam Raimi were. Probably a good thing, really. I now identify the goofy, cartoonish elements with 'Raising Arizona' and the violence with 'Bottom' or 'Itchy & Scratchy', but I do remember laughing like a drain at this strangely unhinged melodrama.The rodent-like Brion James and the brutish Paul L.Smith are excellent slapstick hoods, Louise Lasser has a brittle classic glamour and Reed Birney (who I've never seen in anything else) is the wide-eyed, hopelessly romantic loser who would be totally out of his depth in a puddle, let alone the troubles that come to him in this story.Being a Sam Raimi film, Bruce Campbell is present, in a splendidly oily performance as a total heel. According to one of Bruce's books, making the film was a tough job for various reasons, but the result, while not a classic, is definitely worth your time.

A smash-and-grab cut-rate showpiece from green-yet-enthusiastic director and co-writer Sam Raimi and his writing partners, brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. Loosely-hinged tale concerns an inmate at Hudsucker Penitentiary who swears he is innocent of murder, telling his fateful story while strapped to the electric chair. Raimi and cinematographer Robert Primes treat the camera like a brand new toy, seeing its possibilities as endless. Their visual satirizing of cheap noirs and late-night thrillers is initially quite impressive; however, without a bigger budget and a sharper sense of narrative, the film simply can't sustain itself. "Crimewave" is full of whiz-bang effects, but the slapstick motifs and vignettes hold no weight--it's just a doodle. Paul L. Smith (who does a funny slow burn) and Louise Lasser have a wonderfully silly extended chase sequence, and there's a funny pay-off after the end-credits. *1/2 from ****

It's been proved and it gets repeated time after time, that is not solely the names that make the movie. A viewer might expect solid directing and a clever story when such a names as in this one are behind the scenes; Or sometimes seen thru the lens.It must be said, that clearly there was some talent put in this movie. However, it feels like a try that ultimately fails to deliver everything what was originally thought and what went thru the mind. The cast, the set and the pacing.Mostly the pacing.Crimewave has a little too much of everything. It's a patchwork where the joy is in the making, not in the actual result itself. The story is practically non-existent. When the end credits finally scroll in, everything locks in place, yes, but not in a way that brings joy and happiness.This movie is not only boring, but it's frustrating. It's a bad ghost train in a creepy amusement park that visits local town every now and then. All the enjoyment wears off when the you sit in the rusting carriage, painted over way too many times.Everything happens in a rush and there are no slow and developing phases whatsoever. As the rail is straight, you'll know that eventually an exit will come and that ruins everything. The whole story is anticipated and expected from the very beginning to the bitter end.Or better still, the ending itself is the most important thing. Now that the journey has been made, there's no need to ever again repeat it.And that's what this movie is all about today. A journey to the roots only for the sake of the journey itself, never ever to be repeated again.

Crimewave has 'cult b-movie' written all over it. From the opening credits, to the crazy story, oddball characters and cheezy acting, this is a film that has no pretensions of winning any Oscars.Unfortunately, it's dated now, and hasn't held up as well as it could do. The setting may have been intended to be late 50's urban downtown America, but the whole thing has been glossed with a nasty 80's varnish that's hard to ignore.With the exception of a few standouts, the acting overall is very hammy, which is just right for this film, so no points deducted there. Paul Smith's goofy hero is likable enough as a geeky home security installer with a crush on a feisty independent girl, but Bruce Campbell's oily sleezebag heel definitely steals the show, sometimes with just a single slimy look and a self-confident guffaw.The pace of the film is pretty well established with loads of car chases & cartoon violence, but Sam Raimi has a few tricks up his sleeve. One of the more memorable, and brilliant set pieces is the chase through the 'Safest corridoor in the world', or the attack in the apartment.Some of the dialogue is a bit poor though, and very predictable, but if the verbal jokes don't make you laugh, the visual ones will.Great fun the first time around, but not exactly a film I'd want to watch again & again.