Stand Up Guys

It looks like this is the season for comebacks, with old timers and veterans proving a point that they still have it in them to pull off a film, at least with their charisma being top draw, and a bonus if the story does justice to their big screen return. Christopher Walken may had made his mark this year with Seven Psychopaths, but it's not until Stand Up Guys playing opposite Al Pacino and Alan Arkin that truly brought out a finer performance, making this Fisher Stevens directed movie one of the best this year so far in a tale about what it means to be friends. Written by Noah Haidle, the story centers around Doc (Walken) who becomes the only one to meet long time friend and collaborator Val (Pacino) when he comes out of prison after 28 years. And while you'd like to think that's what friends are for, there's another agenda to this almost three decade wait, that he's the appointed hit man by a cruel mob boss who wants to settle scores with Val for killing his only son. And to wait that long for revenge, is to ensure Val knows what's coming for him, after serving his long sentence. To spice things up in a diabolical way, why not threaten one's best friend to finish the job? Doc is given a deadline until 10am the next day, or face further consequences that don't need any spelling out. So in what would be like a last hurrah to celebrate their friendship, reminisce about old times, and essentially complete one's last supper with meals, drugs, getting laid and the whole shenanigans, Stand Up Guys follow the duo, which became a trio once they pick up Alan Arkin's Hirsch, through a night filled with a series of random adventures, from stealing cars, to picking up girls, and spend what would be their best time together before the inevitable had to happen. And it was such a pleasant ride that you'd hope it would have moved in real time instead, and more, with regular pit stops made at different points in the narrative that was as funny as they were necessary, to move the plot forward. The success of this movie came from the story by Haidle, who had created quality characters filled with humanity in them, that they become a lot more than just characters on screen, but closer to people you would truly and easily care for, especially as the clock goes ticking away towards the deadline. The script's witty, and comical when it wants to, providing Pacino's Val with some of the best lines in the film, sometimes tinged with melancholy especially his eulogy about death - which you would have heard over the trailer - and often times filled with wry humour as a dead man would in knowing that his end is near. Christopher Walken, playing off opposite Pacino, was the relatively serious counterpoint to Val, and I felt he stole the show from the more showy Pacino character through quieter moments, with plenty of emotional baggage of his character being worn on his sleeve given Doc's family issues, and the weight and pressure of having been assigned to bump off a good friend, which is something nobody should be put through. Alan Arkin's role may be the relatively smaller one, but when these three veterans get together, it's nothing but pure magic in the way cinema lights up when well written and developed characters get fleshed out by A- list performances, making it almost direct itself - no intent meant to take the shine from director Stevens for a job well done. And the expanded supporting characters also added a little something special, especially those that dealt with family, because after sitting through this, and being dispensed with plenty of words of wisdom about love and life, you can't help but to fall in love with a film that had plenty of heart and soul. I'm clearly going to get this on DVD at least, to relive the experience again and hopefully with a little bit more extras being packaged together. A definite recommend!

I'm not one who often writes reviews and I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this Movie. What can I say - Pacino was Spectacular and Walken is - well, he's Walken. As brilliant as he was in The Deer Hunter. The Duo make a stunning and very humorous Duo and certain parts of the Movie will definitely have you in stitches. I'm not going to say anything about the plot but I highly recommend this Movie to any potential Viewers. Filled with Witty Humour and sharp Sarcasm, the Movie tends to get one thinking about different aspects of Life. A Fun Movie - and though a bit slow, I was fixed on the Screen. Pacino and Walken make some of the Newer Actors look like true Amateurs - Watch it - You'll Love it!!

The entire lead cast is wasted. I wonder how this movie got funded. Don't waste a single moment of your time on this piece of sh*t. If this movie wins an Oscar for anything I'm off Hollywood forever. The only redeeming fact was the production design, I could really smell the prison stank/ and the retirement home smell of death. All the female cast were way too good for the peers they were cast against. Gotta see Scent of a Woman (an caricaturisation homage done in this movie) & True Romance again! Too much of the movie is wasted dialogue which doesn't lead anywhere. Fisher Stevens you would be better off making a follow-up to Short Circuit.

The film has a nice genuine feel about it, great story, great acting and a great soundtrack that compliments the film and characters! I found myself getting sucked in to the characters and as much as I enjoy seeing Walken act and hearing his dialogue, Pacino was great in this film too. He's not an angry mobster but a likable criminal one of his best films I think. Walken doesn't give us the old stories that we are used to but his presence is just perfection. Do not expect this film to be full of gangster violence and action, this is the other end of the career. Experience and heart goes a long way. I have to say that if this film was made with a different cast I think it would have been slow and easy to miss, walken and pacino make the film as genuine as they come.

A near masterpiece.? Excuse me? Are employees of Lionsgate writing these reviews because this is as bad as it gets. Here we have a crime comedy flick that guess what - isn't remotely funny. Its sad watching Pacinos career get flushed down the toilet bowl . Never as busy as De Niro gone are the days when he was more selective. Maybe decent scripts just don't arrive on his desk anymore. The story for what its worth is hackneyed and clichéd and yet they still manage to mess up the script. Pacinos' character has another nasty medical escapade with his genitals.Oooh that needle must have hurt. Shouldn't have taken all those blue pills. Must have brought memories of People I Know flooding back. In fact male genitalia are the meat and drink for various unfunny gags during the first part of the movie. Walken tries his best but he was much funnier in the equally lame Seven Psychopaths. Its Cocoon for the mob with Butch Cassidy thrown in the mix. 2013 just got off to a really poor start.

I won't pretend to avidly follow new movie releases, but I am shocked that this movie, which is a superbly written and executed (pun intended) story about lifelong friendship, did not generate more attention. Is it because Pacino, Arkin and Walken are perceived to be past their red carpet primes themselves? I hope not! Doing for others because they are friends, with full knowledge of their flaws, is something we might want to consider more frequently. And what could be better than to do so with wit and great fun at the local house of ill repute? All things modernized since one character entered his long journey (close to three decades in prison) are underscored without being condescending. And ultimately, justice and mercy triumph. I can't wait to watch this again.

I guess that "Stand Up Guys" is intended to be Al Pacino and Christopher Walken's version of "The Bucket List," since apparently every aging male movie star is required to have one before wrapping up his career. And true to the body of work of these two seminal actors, this outing takes the form of a crime comedy/drama, in which they portray geriatric gangsters, one (Walken) retired and the other (Pacino) just paroled after 28 years in the slammer (I use the word "slammer" intentionally in an attempt to capture at least some of the anachronistic flavor of this throwback to a bygone era of gangster-movie melodrama). It turns out that Walken has only been allowed to live all these years on the condition that he whack Pacino for killing the only son of an equally decrepit mob boss played by Mark Margolis. The humor in Noah Haidle's screenplay consists mainly of jokes about the men's various ailments (with a special emphasis on impotence) and medications. When they're not trying to procure Viagra, they're lamenting the good old days, banging hookers, or going off on little escapades like breaking their buddy (Alan Arkin) out of a retirement home for some just-for-old-times-sake "tough guy" fun-and-games on the road. Directed by Fisher Stevens, the movie feels as wheezy and creaky as the characters it's depicting. The whole thing is based on the premise that there's nothing quite so amusing or heartwarming as watching an assortment of septuagenarians behaving as if they were still in their 20s. The result is patronizing and condescending to both the actors and the members of the audience regardless of their ages. There's also a sequence at a cemetery (with a hapless Julianna Margulies bearing witness to it) that's a strong contender for Least Plausible Scene of the Year Award. As to the performers themselves, Walken's effective underplaying is not sufficient to counteract Pacino's nonstop scenery-chewing. And while it's nice to see actors of a certain age getting movie roles these days, does it really have to be in a vehicle of roughly the same vintage?

First off let me preface by saying that I was looking forward to this movie. Now let me make it clear, this movie is an absolute disaster. Even with talent like Pacino, Walken and Arkin there was no saving this script. Walken and Pacino feel like they are sleepwalking through this effort. If that is what they intended to portray then fine, they got what they wanted. Arkin is great but literally has about 13 minutes of screen time. The simple and boring plot of this film is set up within the first 8 minutes and never deviates one iota, except for one completely foreseeable "twist" 2/3 of the way through. After watching this film I felt like I had just spent an hour and a half at Hometown Buffet watching senior citizens nosh on the early bird special because a huge portion of the film is dedicated to meals. Pacino and Walken, particularly Pacino, eat like 8 meals in just over a 24 hr period. It gets rather annoying. Overall I found this movie almost unbearable and completely forgettable. Aside from Arkin, this film has zero redeeming qualities

Very honestly, I don't understand why Hollywood has started giving cheap nonsense. The dialogs are really below average, some places which could have had good sarcastic humor, have just lame attempts at humor. Pacino and Walken, nearly 70, go to a pick up joint? ridiculously unbelievable. Then with Arkin again? totally weird. he crappy dialogs go back and forth, and the filming does not drive any impact at all. Its unbelievable that actors of their caliber, especially Pacino, actually in such garbage. Even I would think twice if I was offered such a lame scripted role; many attempts at humor, but VERY clichéd, you can expect whats coming next, nothing to talk about at all.I think JBJs sound track Not Running Anymore while a good song, does not fit in with the feel of the film - the song makes you believe the film would have a serious tone and characters, and would totally mean business. Instead the film is the three guys acting like they're in their 20s at times, Arkin driving like a maniac a couple times, and making lame replies intended to make the audience laugh but doesn't hit the mark. What a waste of time.Really Awful.

Not having gotten around to watching "Stand Up Guys" before now was a mistake on my behalf, especially given the three acting heavyweighters that stars in the movie; Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin. "Stand Up Guys" is a good comedy that has a nice story to tell. Although this is not the type of comedy that will have you spilling your drinks in your laps from laughing, it is the type of light-hearted comedy that will make you feel good. The story is about Val (played by Al Pacino) who comes out from prison after 28 years of incarceration. Meeting him at the entrance is his old friend Doc (played by Christopher Walken). Doc has been hired to kill Val and has a time limit until the next morning; and during this time the old friends start up old habits and revisit old friends. The characters in the movie were nicely fleshed out and nicely detailed. There is a really good chemistry between Pacino and Walken, and this really reflects well on both characters that they play, because there is a very good sense of friendship and intimacy's with one another as they are on the screen. The movie offers drama, action, comedy and even a high speed chase. "Stand Up Guys" is a fun and great movie, which offers 95 minutes of great entertainment. If not for the good story, then the movie is well worth watching for the three stars of the movie.