Caffeinated Clint
“The Hard Easy” is like digging into a sandwich bag of cheap mull – you don’t expect it to be any good because you’ve gotten to know just what to expect from the cheaper offerings and have been burnt by those involved before.
Henry Thomas, David Boreanaz, Vera Farmiga, Bruce Dern, Peter Weller, Nick Lachey, Elimu Nelson, Gary Busey, Anthony Dee
“The Hard Easy” is like digging into a sandwich bag of cheap mull – you don’t expect it to be any good because you’ve gotten to know just what to expect from the cheaper offerings and have been burnt by those involved before.
I’m happy to say – if only because it’s a nice backhander to the studios – “The Hard Easy” gave me a nice high. It’s a trip I never saw coming.
Starring the likes of David Boreanaz (his previous films are woeful); Henry Thomas (still in the hope he’ll find another “E.T”) and Gary Busey (‘Oh boy’ I hear you say), the economically minded actioner takes its cue from the character-laden British gangster movie, the likes of which Guy Ritchie resurrected with his “Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels”.
In it, Two separate teams of jewel thieves, one low-rent and one upscale, both desperate, converge on the same score at the exact same time, and a simple job turns out very complicated and very bloody. Much of the action revolves around the central characters of Paul (Thomas) a down-on-his-luck loser whose heavily in debt and Roger (Boreanaz) a well-to-do stockbroker whose company chief (Peter Weller) has forced him into a robbery to pay off the company arrears.
What could’ve been an absolute out-and-out mess – mainly because a lot of Indy’s do try to emulate what the bigger films that have come before them have done, and fail because of a shoddy cast or unfinished script – is an absolute crackerjack of fun.
The cast – particularly Boreanaz (TVs “Bones”) and Thomas (who, aside from the Spielberg blockbuster, you’ll also remember from “Legends of the Fall” and “Fire in the Sky”); special mention also to Gary Busey in what could be his best performance since well, ‘Celebrity Fit Club’ – are obviously having a hoot here and it shows in their effervescent and exuberant performances. More so though, Jon Lindstrom and Tom Schanley’s script takes what’s basically a worn formula and gives it a nice oil and grease – writing fleshy characters; fabulous dialogue and giving everyone something to do.
Who says you can’t teach old film template new tricks?
Rating : 
Reviewer : Clint Morris
