Such a frustrating disappointment

Good movie but grossly overrated

Good concept, poorly executed.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

A pretty awful Tarrantino try-hard wannabe flick with poor characterisations and a plot that is supposed to be exciting I suppose that just gets dull due to well pretty much any factor.The acting is below average, most of the actors are decent usually (with exception of Jessica Simpson's ex-husband Nick Lachey who was equally bad in 'RISE (2007)'). Vera Farmiga is usually one of my favourite actresses but I have no idea why she did this movie, granted she wasn't a household name when the movie was made, which spent years on the shelves before being released straight to DVD in the US (unsurprising I'm sure to those that have seen it) and she can't carry this turd up no matter how hard she tries (even though she doesn't).It starts with the main players robbing a bank then it goes back into time for the next hour of how this robbery came to be and it is truly a unfascinating story of the same old same old with no true struggles that could be able to gain interest with the viewers.The movie also flows very badly, the editing is terrible, occasionally fast cut and occasionally few and long single shots in a scene there is no real rhyme or reason to it either, feels very amateurish.And throw in a bunch of f-bombs that screams of desperation to keep the edge and coolness of the movie, but it fails, as does the movie on all accounts.

I've always wondered why in movies folks can shoot off 200 or 300 rounds from AK-47s at someone such as Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, or Arnold Schwarzenegger without drawing blood, while in real life a cop will draw his service revolver thinking it's his TAZER and kill someone dead. The first person (of 11) shown shot to death in this film is snuffed out in that gray area of accidentally-on-purpose, which seems more realistic than the events of most crime flicks. (This victim is the only black character in THE HARD EASY, but this is no doubt the result of random unconsciousness on the part of first-time director Ari Ryan.) Ryan uses a lot of restraint (which he credits to his limited CGI budget during the DVD "bonus" director's interview) in pulling back from a RESERVOIR DOGS-level of violence, so when it appears a loan shark is cutting off the main character's pinkie, it later turns out it was "only" broken (and a "clean" break, at that!). If film-goers were given a prospectus on the 11 main characters in advance, they probably would put the two eventual survivors among their top three to "stay on the island." Therefore, this movie gets the maximum rating its limited budget and corresponding cast could hope to attain.

David Boreanaz is not the world's greatest actor. I know this. He has good instincts, and has even been decent in some projects, but without an experienced director to really tell him what to do, he does tend to come off looking a little amateurish.Don't know who Ari Ryan is, but kudos to him for getting a film made. I'm sure he was paid very well. But his direction is simplistic and camera-work uninspired (and at times confusing), and for the first hour, all the characters do is bark at one another, whining about how they're not going to take part in a heist that we already know from the first scene is going to take place.There ARE a few good one-liners... but veteran actors like Peter Weller, Bruce Dern, and even Henry Thomas (hey, he's been doing this since 1982) know how to make it work. Gary Busey managed to act sober for nearly all of his scenes. Vera Farmiga was a year away from "The Departed," and certainly does her best with what's given her, though that isn't much. Her character takes an unnecessary u-turn late in the movie, and she motivates it as best she can. But left field is left field, and lousy writing is lousy writing.The rest of the performances just kind of lay there. To even call Nick Lachey an actor is an insult to actual actors. The plot synopsis promised two gangs of thieves doing a heist at the same bank on the same day, but the reality is that (a) it's not a bank, it's a jewelry store, (b) they're not thieves, they're amateurs, and (c) we see a bit of the heist in the opening scene, then we flashback and they spend 90 minutes talking about it, to get us back there. We already know it's going to happen, so where's the dilemma? Get to the good stuff, man, it's fun to watch RoboCop berate people and all, but no one's going to see your movie just because of Weller in a supporting role.Really you could ditch most of the movies first half; Henry Thomas' character is at least interesting (the lovable loser), but then the movie takes a giant crap on everyone around him in the final act, making all that set-up completely irrelevant. Boreanaz' half of the movie isn't interesting at all; His character is a selfish, materialistic jerk, and he's surrounded by selfish, materialistic jerks. The audience isn't interested. Get on with it.As a short film, this might work. It was a good idea. Unwatchable action sequences, too much exposition and too many bad actors nearly ruin the whole affair. The few good actors make it watchable... but when it ends, you'll wonder what the point of the first 60 minutes was, if the filmmakers care so little about the characters they took pains to create.6/10. Someone give Henry Thomas a better movie, already.

Sure, it's a genre picture, but a stylishly directed and well acted one. First time helmer Ryan especially gets great performances out of the character actors (Weller and Dern) who haven't had a chance to strut their stuff on screen like this in years. I do wish Ryan's talents in striking a nice balance between action, noir, and drama had been matched by a smarter screenplay (you want the plot to twist more and not just thicken). However, all in all it's a great showcase for some fine acting (not only by the aforementioned Weller and Dern; Farmiga, Boreanaz, and especially Thomas also come off quite well)and director Ryan, who seems to exhibit the same muscular craftsmanship of a young Sidney Lumet or Michael Mann.