Focus

Do Will Smith and Margot Robbie have good chemistry?

Our story follows expert con-man Nicky (Will Smith) as he leads his enterprise of other con-artists into stealing from everyone they can. A girl, Jess (Margot Robbie), walks into the organization. The girl has Nicky feeling things that he has never let himself feel before; however, we need to find out who is playing who. In a world of cons, you can trust no one.

So the story is solid, albeit a bit cliche. Now, I'm not saying that it repeats what every other movie does, it is only a bit cliche. The overall arc of bad boy, meets bad girl, and tries to go straight, has been done; but, it was done very well here. The story isn't the real winner here, the dialogue is. The slight remarks, and sarcasm is delivered expertly by the cast, and in that sense this movie tends to be a bit enjoyable in the writing department. I couldn't tell if it was the lines that were written, or who was delivering them, but I did like what was hearing. The main thing holding this movie back from joining the pantheon of great crime movies is the ending. I won't spoil anything for you so lets just say that it was a nice effort; but, there are so many things wrong with it, and so many blatant contradictions that I'm surprised the rest of the movie held together as well as it did. Another part of the story that didn't seem to quite work is that it fell into that same old trap that most "con-artist movies" fall into by not knowing where to hold back on the deception. So, a lot of the romance gets lost in translation, which comes back to hurt the ending even more, and unravels a lot of the good points from the movie.

The thing about this movie is that the gems weren't in the writing, they were found in the cinematography. The camera tricks utilized here weren't anything really new, but they were surprising. Some of the camera work seemed to be taken from the horror genre, using mirror tricks, and misdirection tactics. Some were taken from the romance genre, knowing exactly what part of the body to draw focus (yeah....ha!) on and when. It was brilliantly done, and all of it fell into this nice, crisp and clean background, allowing us to escape into their world more easily. Absolutely stunning.

Now for the acting, which is the only reason I was anticipating this movie at all. Will Smith's more recent movie decisions have left a bad taste in my mouth in regards to his acting credibility. From his cameo in "Winter's Tale," to the god-awful movie with his son "After Earth," he just hasn't been bringing the same flavor we all knew him for; however, Will wasn't the only one that needed to bring his A-game in this. Margot Robbie is a brand new face that acted well in a role written for a know-nothing model, so I needed to see if it was just the perfect part for her, or if she actually had some skill. Luckily, both of the main actors were damn near flawless in this. The role of a con-man is perfect for Will Smith, he can (and did) use his charm and bravado to sell the entire audience on whatever game he was trying to play. Margot Robbie showed me that she could be more than an attractive girl, that can use a convincing accent. She played a more gullible protege con, while remaining to seem elegant, and graceful through out the run time. In an effort to not be out-shined by the two A-listers, the supporting cast brought their game up to a level that kept everyone at their best.

Final Verdict: Rent it Some major story problems significantly hold this picture back from greatness, but the actors and cinematography bring this movie up a couple of notches. If you were wondering about the two future members of the "Suicide Squad," I would say it is safe to assume they will be great in the movie.