Directed by:
Fisher StevensScreenplay:
Noah HaidleCinematography:
Michael GradyComposer:
Lyle WorkmanCast:
Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin, Julianna Margulies, Katheryn Winnick, Vanessa Ferlito, Mark Margolis, Addison Timlin, Lucy Punch, Rick Gomez (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
VAL (Al Pacino) is released from prison after serving twenty-eight years for refusing to give up one of his close criminal associates. His best friend DOC (Christopher Walken) is there to pick him up, and the two soon reteam with another old pal, HIRSCH (Alan Arkin). Their bond is as strong as ever, and the three reflect on freedom lost and gained, loyalties ebbed and flowed, and days of glory gone by. And despite their age, their capacity for mayhem is still very much alive and well - bullets fly as they make a hilariously valiant effort to compensate for the decades of crime, drugs and sex they've missed. But one of the friends is keeping a dangerous secret- he's been put in an impossible quandary by a former mob boss, and his time to find an acceptable alternative is running out. As the sun rises on the guys' legendary reunion, their position becomes more and more desperate and they finally confront their past once and for all. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (6)
Barely walking and always depressed Al Pacino gets out of prison and a gray wolf, Christopher Walken, is waiting for him at the prison gates. He is supposed to kill him, but Al is his old-time friend, so he still grants him some pleasures. A whore, some steak, and after the second course, he realizes that he quite likes him again. At that moment, he takes pity of Al and the real drama begins, which is at times also a decent comedy. Sure, the nostalgia is felt at every corner. Every actor who appears on the screen is limping so hard that even the devil at the bottom of the Orlík dam would notice it. The movie still entertains you nicely. And the three stars are perfectly fitting for such a film.
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Al Pacino invigorated by Viagra in a brothel with a Russian prostitute? Why the hell not... Stand Up Guys is a nice chillout
flick with classic cars and jazz music in the background, phlegmatically dragging its feet forward with an occasional
funny episode. Pacino and Christopher Walken are entertaining to watch even in a movie that’s not going anywhere and whose
ending is completely predictable, despite its screenwriter’s best efforts to the contrary. It probably wasn’t him who
came up with the best gags (he still has a lot to learn in this respect), but the central duo.
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Told at a snail’s pace, broken down into episodes and somewhat vague in terms of genre, Stand Up Guys is a film whose positive merits begin and end with the names of the three veteran actors in the lead roles. Unfortunately, their characters are rather one-dimensional and their behaviour is oddly inconsistent. All three of them oscillate between hardcore, old-school gangsters and sentimental old codgers for whom a pretty girl and a properly cooked steak are enough to be happy. The attempt of these charismatic geezers to confer their wisdom to the younger generation is not only very unconvincing, but also amoral. In any case, the greatest threat to the central trio is not hypertension or cardiac arrhythmia, but the bland directing, which stays in the “sit and deliver” zone through most of the film. The sudden switch from the languid pace to a car chase edited like a music video is then more irritating than welcome. And that is not the only indication of the director’s lack of assuredness about how to organise this revival night-time get-together. The schizophrenic attempt to cram as many gangster motifs (sex, drugs, violence) as possible into a single film or, even worse, into a single night while at the same time melancholically rehashing missed opportunities elicits the impression of implausibility and the feeling that everything happens only to satisfy the needs of the screenplay rather than the natural order of things. This “predetermination” saps the film of any tension, anything that would add gravity and appeal to the lifeless world in which the story takes place. The “aging” of clichés taken from movies about criminals reuniting is entertaining (the pharmacy robbery, snorting crushed blood-pressure pills), but it loses steam as the film itself gradually gets bogged down in a quagmire of clichés. Pacino could slowly start reading the screenplays that he’s offered, before it’s too late to bring his remarkable acting career to a dignified conclusion. 50%
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Old school. Three old boys on the brink of death come together for their final job. Pacino’s first role that suits him in a long time. And he really enjoys himself, too, but the king of the picture is Christopher Walken. The inner stress emerging through his face, the uncertainty and the subsequent determination that crystalizes out in the last quarter of an hour. I take this to be a premature, stylish farewell of icons of the silver screen. They say we die twice. Once when the breath leaves our body, and once when the last person we know says our name.
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Pity about that ending, I expected... Something different, better. The part where Pacino and Walken rescue Alan Arkin's partner was the funniest of all, but the rest was also very enjoyable.
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Christopher Walken and Al Pacino. This old guard in one film and with them an even older Alan Arkin? Such a film I definitely couldn't miss. This trio is a great example of how a film can be made in old age that will be so full of life, even though it will actually be about death. Val (Al Pacino) returns from prison after a long time. His best friend, Doc (Christopher Walken), is waiting for him. They did a lot together, stole a lot, but it was the law that divided them. But Val is glad to be free and wants to take advantage of it, wants to have some fun. So they start it off - women, drugs, alcohol, and just in case, also the hospital when the erection pills work too well. The film is funny, but also sad, but that doesn't change the fact that it is entertaining, that it is a film that evokes some emotions. For the plot, it is crucial that Doc has not only reunited with Val for their old friendship, but also to kill Val. Yes, he is supposed to kill his best friend in order to ensure the safety of his own granddaughter. Can he do this? Can he kill a man he truly loves? This is a classic buddy movie, a film about friendship that is definitely worth it. Hirsch, a third member, joins the duo during the film. He has always been the driver. Reuniting with the old buddies is crucial for him and it changes his life forever. Humor, nostalgia, sadness, you will experience all of this in the film, and in addition, a great duo of old men who are damn good at shooting and are still capable of taking on younger ones. It's not a great film, but it impressed me even more. Exactly the kind of film that you only want a little entertainment from. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2013/02/now-is-good-stand-up-guys-bourne-30.html
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