Wonderful character development!

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Why You Might Like It: This is a very good hostage/heist film that will entertain you from start to finish. The pace of the movie is great and it has plenty of action to keep you entertained. There are many notable actors in the movie and everyone involved does a solid job. I also thought the directing was well done and the movie also has a bunch going on to keep you guessing. Overall, a fun watch.Why You Might Not Like It: One of the knocks might be that this film just has too much going on for an hour and a half movie. There are flashbacks, intertwined story lines, twists, etc. that some viewers could find confusing and hard to keep up with. It does seem like an extra 30 minutes or so might have made the movie considerably better.Acting/Casting: 6.5* Directing/Cinematography/Technical: 6.5*Plot/Characters: 6* Entertainment Value: 6.5* Total - 6.5+6.5+6+6.5 = 24.5/4 = 6.375* - Worth a Rental

I gave this an 8, just to bump it up a little - it's about a 7 honestly. That's still a good film folks - don't believe the score you see here on IMDb.This movie is very well acted by pretty much everyone in it, with some notable performances from Ferris, Chiklis, and Liotta (who I haven't enjoyed much lately). The actions and reactions are believable and the drama is charged.Most people seem to harp on the plot here - it's a complicated tale of a corrupt cop trying to arrange a heist against an underworld kingpin - a heist that goes wrong from the start. I can't go into too much detail without spoiling it, but the turns and surprises, though definitely unusual, are really not that hard to believe and - here's the important part - they make for a great watch.Solid dialogue, fine direction, and solid gold acting make this an easy keeper for this movie viewer.

This movie is evidence that you don't need a large budget or a ton of action to keep an audience interested. I thought this movie was captivating from beginning to end. It isn't a perfect movie - there is a little bit too much coincidence in the story that prevents the audience from completely swallowing the story smoothly, and the end seems a little unfinished in some details. But other than that, the movie is very well done. It's a little strange to hear Michael Chiklis speak with a British accent, but he manages to sell his character. In fact, all the actors do a good job. While low budget, the movie looks slick and professional in every shot. The real star of the movie is the script, which has a lot of twists and turns, enough that I could not see where the movie was heading. If you like independent cinema, this is one example that is very pleasing to watch.

Pawn, is a surprisingly grisly movie that deserves a top ranking with straight to video releases. The performances aren't as terrible as most of these types of films consist of and you really get invested into the characters. For such a film, it's screenplay isn't as full with stale or artificial lines and it actually embodies it's characters. On paper the plot seems extremely stale/generic but with it's execution of a fresh style and simplicity it ends up to transform. Whitaker and Liota's role are really minor roles but it's such a treat to see them in a film like this. The plot is a short term one but the film makes it work by analyzing every single detail, so I dare you to find a plot hole. With an over average script that contains a scene of really smart symbolism, the actors can not really mess it up. Action wise the film does not shy away, probably due to the fact of the directors background in being a cinematographer for the Saw films. For a crime/robbery flick it isn't as brainless as you could have been led to believe and it really captures the scene in a full scale. Overall, the film is an acceptable straight to video release that contains sudden twists, fresh plot, and great character development