You won't be disappointed!

Pretty Good

hyped garbage

A Major Disappointment

The Forger is nowhere near as most critics make it out to be. It has a talented cast, solid pacing, a great family component and a classic Travolta performance. It will keep you hooked throughout. However, it's never surprising and doesn't break any new ground. (3/5)

****SPOILERS****John Travolta as ex-convict Raymond J. Cutter sporting an artsy looking mini goatee is recruited by the man who framed him Keegan, Ason mount, to be part of a robbery of the famous Monet's "Woman with a passion" painting out of the Boston Art Museum. The big surprise in all this is that Cutter a master artist himself is to reproduce the work of art and replace it with that of the original! This whacked out scheme is payback to Keegan who paid off the judge in Cutter's case to release him 10 months earlier so he can spend some time with his terminally ill, with 4th stage brain cancer, 15 year old son Will, Tye Sheridan,before he passes away!Raymond also gets to have the dying Will to finally meet his estranged and pill popping mom Kim, Jennifer Ehle,to have an hamburger and fries with at a local Boston "Danney's". As well as have Will get to get-well you know what- or have a good time in the sack with his on and off girlfriend Melaine, Lyndon Smith, who he was too shy, until his dad stepped in, to ask out for a date.***SPOILERS*** It was Will's grandpa Joseph Cutter, Chris "The Plummer" Plummer, who in being a both master criminal as well as artist who set everything up for his son Raymond to succeed by not only reproducing the Monet work of art-"Woman with Passion"- but setting up Keegan, who framed Raymond and had him spend five years behind bars,in switching the painting and having him stuck with the phony one that he reproduced. Somewhat to complicated to follow but Travolta's performance as a father risking everything to make his son's last days on earth happy ones did hit a nerve in watching the movie. That in the tragedy that Travolta did in fact suffer in real life with his son passing away at an early age.

Highly Emotional Family bonding and Dramatics engage this Tear-Jerker with a good trio of lead Actors John Travolta, Tye Sheridan, and Christopher Plummer. Not a Heist-Film, per-se, as advertised, but a slice of Tragic Life with a Terminal Teenage cancer Victim the Centerpiece.The Family involved here are Criminals and Druggies. The Teen Boy is confronted with mostly Certain Death and handles it well. Travolta is Sensitive trying to Comfort and Reconnect with his Son, the Heart of Film, and while not breaking any New Ground the Movie is at best with the Warm Involvement of the Characters.The Heist angle is ridiculously Staged and is the Weakest part of the two part Story. If You can forgive the Contrivances in the Con, what is left is Human Drama handled with just enough Gravitas to hold the thing together and make it Worth a Watch.It's a Story that has been Done Many Times but is Essential and Important for the plight of People whose Lives are filled with Suffering brought about by their own makings and the makings of a World and Universe filled with Pain and the way our Species must Deal and Cope.The part of Life that Demands from all in this "House of Pain" the Courage and Determination to Overcome the Obstacles Roadblocking the Journey for all of Life's Participants.

Review: This movie is watchable, just because you want to know if they get away with the heist but it does seem cheap and the acting isn't that great. Travolta plays a art forger who has to take on one last job to pay of a debt to a criminal who bribed a judge to get him released from prison 10 months early so be with his son, who is dying of cancer. Whilst preparing for the heist, he spends time with his son who asks for three wishes which are to see his mum, who he has never seen before, to get laid and to help his dad with the heist. After much persuasion, he teaches his son the ropes to steal an expensive painting by Claude Monet and he also recruits his father who has knowledge in the heist game. With the police hot on there tail, they set out to swap the painting with a replica whilst cooperating with a certain police officer who believes that his motives are not what they seem. I'm not used to the moody Travolta, who has lost his spark lately but he managed to pull of a good performance, even though this film seemed like it was made for DVD. I did get quite confused when it came to the actual heist because it seemed way to easy and I haven't got a clue how they got away with it. I also didn't understand how they were able to leave the country so easy after being accused of stealing a painting but thats just me being picky. The storyline was a bit sketchy but I did like the bond between Travolta and his son, which started off to be a little awkward but once he knew that his dads intentions were genuine, they bonded quite well. Christopher Plummer brought light to the difficult situation with his humorous attitude but I didn't quite understand what happened to the gangster who needed the painting to pay of his debt. Anyway, it's not the most intelligent heist movie that I've seen but it's watchable because of the different elements involved. Average!Round-Up: What has happened to Travolta lately! I can understand why his acting career had to be put on the back burner lately, after losing his son in 2009 whilst on a trip in the Bahamas, so that might explain why he only releases one film a year since then. His career has definitely had its up and downs throughout the years, especially during the 80's after he struggled to make a decent movie after pairing up with Olivia Newton John again, in the awful Two of a Kind but he came back with smash hits during the 90s in movies like Pulp Fiction, which brought him back into the limelight, Get Shorty, Phenomenon, Broken Arrow, Michael, Face/Off, Primary Colours, A Civil Action and a Generals Daughter. After investing in the terrible Battlefield Earth, his career has never hit the success as it did during the 90s but his acting abilities have never been questioned. He seems to deep in and out of different genres by starring in comedies like Old Dogs and Hairspray one minute and then moving to action movies like the Taking of Pelham 123 and From Paris With Love the next, so his career is definitely not stable at the moment. I do wish him all the best after such a terrible tragedy in his life and I'm sure Tarantino is busy writing another movie to bring him back to mainstream cinema. Anyway, this is the first movie directed by Philip Martin for the big screen so I can't criticise him that much. He did bring different elements to the project which made it quite interesting but it did seem low budget and sketchy. Basically, it's better than I expected but it's still not the standard that I expect from Travolta.Budget: $11million Worldwide Gross: N/AI recommend this movie to people who are into their crime/drama/thrillers about a man who seeks help from a gangster so he can be released from prison 10 months early to spend some time with his dying son but he has to steal a expensive painting to pay back the debt. 3/10