This is a movie starring De Niro in 1998. Compared with the general action movies, there are some big backgrounds and twists and turns here, and some big-name stars have joined, such as Jean Reno, Natasha McElhone, Sean Bean and so on. more engaging.
The story tells the story of an Irish woman, Dai Zhuo, who was forced to make a living and was ordered by a mysterious Irish figure to recruit a group of killers and plan to rob an important box. Among these people, there are ex-special forces, ex-German secret police, and retired personnel from France and the CIA. It should be a safe thing to do. Unexpectedly, things changed in the middle, and the inner and outer battles continued one after another. In the end, the task was completed, and it is said that it also contributed to the peace process in Britain and Ireland. Can't say any more, and it's a serious spoiler, even though it's a movie from decades ago. All in all, it's a good casual movie.
The director understands the psychology of the audience. The film is for audiences like me who are too lazy to think about the results and pay attention to the process. The whole process of the film is very logical and thoughtful, and it is difficult to find the place where the gang is worn without looking carefully. In order to be worthy of the ticket price and the two-hour film length, in addition to fighting, car chase, and pretentious dialogue, the film also chose Paris and Nice in France. The ruins of the ancient Roman theater and the Russian ice ballet are specially displayed. Among the characters, except for the big names just mentioned, most of the supporting roles are also familiar. It also gives these characters a deep background, so that the audience thinks that their actions are definitely not the street nonsense of the gangsters, but affect the survival of human beings. Therefore, when we see that in the shootout, innocent people continue to fall down, countless other vehicles are knocked over during the car chase, and the front and back characters are killing people, we don't care. On the contrary, I feel that for the sake of world peace, these small costs are nothing. (Occasionally think about it from the plot, the director made it like this, in the 1990s with little computer technology, it was really enough.) Although we don't know from the beginning to the end what is in the box they are fighting for, but it is clear I feel that if this box is taken away by evil people, the people of the world will suffer. All these plans, as predicted by the writers and directors in advance, deeply attracted the attention of the audience. I think the box office must have been very high in those days when it premiered.
In the whole operation, the lead is the beautiful Dai Zhuo, but it is Sam who actually controls the situation. He carefully studied the plan, as he himself said, "made by diligence, destroyed by laziness". More importantly, he can keenly see what kind of people these people around him are. The old brother who claims to have worked in the special forces is a second-hand man with no strategy. Sam said to him contemptuously, "I can subdue you with a cup of coffee." Sure enough. put him out. Similarly, he seemingly inadvertently knocked over a cup of coffee, which was easily caught by Greg. He immediately felt that this bookish man with glasses "reacted very quickly" and should not be underestimated. While portraying Sam's wily character, it also laid the groundwork for the subsequent development of the plot. When Sam and Dai Zhuo joined hands to spy on the enemy, Dai Zhuo went from pretending to be a husband and wife to actively courting, so Sam couldn't bear to attack Dai Zhuo, which puzzled Vincent. In an emergency, Sam repeatedly asked Dai Zhuo to leave, even Don't hesitate to reveal your identity. These all reflect the weak side of Sam's heart, or the goodness of Sam's human nature.
Aside from those gripping car chases and fights, the film's main focus is in the scenes where Sam heals. Vincent took the injured Sam to his relationship, an old man. Judging from the look and behavior of this man, he was also a ruthless character when he was young. Vincent helped Sam lie down, and the uncle brought a mirror and cut Sam's clothes to reveal De Niro's fat. Under Sam's command, start taking out bullets. At this time, the camera turned to the eyes of the three people. Sam had such an experience in the past, and he could command Vincent's movements calmly. Because of the pain, his eyes showed a look of forbearance and rationality; is the identification of his identity. Therefore, his eyes were calm, with a hint of concern, and he was watching Sam carefully. And Vincent had never done this job before, and was a little timid, worried that Sam's pain would be caused by his unfamiliarity. The first time I took the tweezers and didn't pick up a bullet, there was guilt in my eyes. With Sam's encouragement, he clenched his teeth a second time, and finally took out the bullet. At this time, Vincent looked at the bloody bullet and breathed a sigh of relief, everything was relieved. This arrangement of the director and several push-pull transitions of the camera, as if the audience is right next to the operating table, watching this simple operation together, and holding a heart for Sam together. The fate of the characters and the feelings of the audience are closely linked. very good!
After Sam recovered from a serious illness, he had a brief conversation with the old man.
Sam: "Many of my friends want to live and open a pub in the future."
The old man: "Has the pub opened? Did you wake up completely later?"
Sam: "That's right."
The awakening that the old man said refers to the people in this circle, whether spies or killers, they all regarded their profession as a job like others, working hard all their lives to earn some money to enjoy the leisure after retirement, such as this The old man fiddled with his samurai sand table all day long. But in fact, as long as you enter this circle, there are dangers everywhere, and the dangers are surrounded by life and death, and few people can escape. Yu Zecheng in "Hidden" and Jin Wulan in reality all have such a fate. So the old man warned Sam: "You still have a major mission. If you abandon your mission and abandon your beliefs, what are you left with?" Indeed, the ability to abandon traditional moral concepts to steal and kill for the rest of your life is supported to the end by belief. . There is neither happiness nor peace of mind. If there is no faith, for personal grievances and money, even if he succeeds for a while, he will not be happy. I will only live in fear and anxiety for the rest of my life.
The title, opening credits, and lines in the middle of the film always tie the actions of these guys to the behavior of the Japanese samurai, which feels a bit far-fetched. I don't think it matches the concept of a samurai at all. It's also for eyeballs, right? There are a few small moments of humor in the film. Sam joked to Vincent: "I don't remember, this is the second lesson." He also told Vincent euphemistically, don't ask the source. Sam and Vincent both turned to their informants for help, but perfunctory each other: "This is my high school classmate." After Sam's surgery, he said to the two next to him, "If you don't mind, I will faint. past."
De Niro played Sam very well. Calm and composure, take action. Let everyone feel that this is the true character of De Niro. And Vincent, played by Jean Reno, has a lower acting skill. Of course, it is still much stronger than those second- and third-rate characters.
My rating: 7.7.
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