He is back, even more tricky

Bakang Israel | Friday March 20, 2015 11:32

 

If you enjoyed Mark Wahlberg’s Italian Job 2 or Brad Pitt and George Clooney’s Ocean’s Thirteen then Will Smith’s Focus is also definitely one not to miss if you are a huge fan of organised crime flicks.

It is a 2015 American romantic crime drama comedy written and directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.  This pair excels in giving us these funny crime movies as they have done so before with Bad Santa (2003) and I Love You Phillip Morris (2009).  In this one action comedy superstar Will Smith returns and this time as a professional crook named Nicky. Smith, a globally renowned movie icon whose films are estimated to have reached $6.63 billion in global box office, is synonymous for films like Bad Boys II, Hitch and Hancock released in 2003, 2005 and 2009 respectively. In this one he has to deal with a beautiful woman in Margot Robbie (Jess). 

Meanwhile, Rodrigo Santoro (Garriga) is also in the mix as a billionaire motor sport mafia. Now this movie left audiences mesmerised over the weekend during the premiere, simply because Focus is just absolutely exciting to watch from start to finish.  It maintains the rhythm all the way.  All this, is thanks to this amazing plot well executed into screenplay. 

Nicky, a seasoned master of misdirection becomes romantically involved with an amateur con-artist, Jess.  As he is teaching her the tricks of the trade, she gets too close for comfort and he abruptly breaks it off. Three years later, the former flame, now an accomplished femme fatale, shows up in Buenos Aires in the middle of the high stakes racecar circuit.

In the midst of Nicky’s latest, very dangerous scheme, she throws his plan for a loop, and the consummate con man off his game.

One thing that grabs one’s attention in this crime comedy is the selection of the characters. Smith’s trademark role is usually playing a policeman or agent as one of the good guys, however, this time he plays a bad boy criminal role of which on its own makes Focus fun to watch.

Such captivating scenes of his bad boy character is when Nicky teaches Jess how to be slick when swindling people suggesting that if you touch someone here, your hands should be perfectly well placed where their eyes are not “Is a game of focus” not forgetting the thrilling moment when a small $5 turned into a $1.2 million bet against a Chinese billionaire of which Nicky fought hard at the expense of clueless Jess to eventually win back.  Plenty of spine-chilling stuff in this movie and the other thing that gives Focus an extra edge is the humour.

Since this film was written and directed by Ficarra and Requa, it explains the cohesion and flair it has.

The funny punchlines of Focus are just so unbelievable, there is this moment in the film where Nicky introduces Jess to the crew, and labels her as their new intern.

Some of the freshest stunts in this film which have never been seen before in crime films include Nicky’s team bugging an ATM with a similar cover that steals card information, also one that left yours truly’s jaw dropped.

Focus is made enjoyable by the fact that it has in store multiple funny twists that keep one glued to their seat.

The movie also looks good, shot in various places.  We see casinos, carnival fairs, race car circuits, state of the art clubs and cities hence the cinematography is more than on point.  The picture is extremely vibrant and appealing. A quote taken from the movie by Nicky teaching Jess the art of con artistry: “It’s about distraction. It’s about focus. The brain is slow and it can’t multi-task. Tap him here, take from there.” Lastly, box office charts indicate a good reception for Smith and his crooks at cinemas. Focus premiered at number one at the box office a fortnight ago with an opening weekend gross of $18.6m and has gone on to generate a global figure of $102.m coming from an estimated budget of $50m.   Here is your guide to this week’s current top five hot movies on circuit at the box office. 1.Cinderella 2.Run All Night 3.Kingsman: The Secret Service 4.Focus 5.Chappie Now you can expect to see Smith back at the big screen in movies like Concussion (2015) as well as Suicide Squad (2016) (also has Margot Robbie). As described from the beginning, this was another blockbuster.   This delightful movie scores an epic 10/10.

Movie: Focus Genre: *Romantic, Comedy, Crime, Drama Duration: 1 hour 45 minutesAge Restriction: 16 Director:  Glenn Ficarra, John RequaMain Cast: Will Smith (Nicky Spurgeon), with Margot Robbie (Jess Barrett) and Rodrigo Santoro (Garriga)