Plastic (2014)

A group of white collar college student criminals led by the charismatic Sam (smoothly played by Ed Speleers) live high on the hog by stealing credit cards and identities from rich folks. The group find themselves in a serious bind after they inadvertently cross sadistic crime boss Marcel (a nicely ruthless portrayal by Thomas Kretschmann), who forces them to come up with a payment of two million dollars in two weeks time or else. While director/co-writer Julian Gilbey keeps the reasonably enjoyable story moving along at a brisk pace, brings a cool slick style to the proceedings, and stages an exciting climatic shootout with flair and skill, he nonetheless crucially fails to generate much in the way of tension and lets the plot become more increasingly preposterous as it unfolds. Moreover, the spoiled and arrogant thief protagonists are decidedly less than likeable and appealing due to the lack of any essential deep characterization. On the plus side, foxy blonde Emma Rigby looks absolutely smashing in a bikini, Alfie Allen smarms it up well as shifty rotten apple Yatesey, and Graham McTavish amuses as a horny diamond broker. Both Chad Hobson's pulsating score and Peter Wignall's glossy widescreen cinematography are up to speed. An okay diversion.

Just so-so (yawn). What began with a reasonably interesting premise turns into a cliché of a cliché of a cliché. What passes for style is simply a mirage for no imagination and cut-and-paste scripting. The Russian sociopath mobster boogie-man? Can't we do better than that already? Shifting from Europe to Miami may be photogenic but was completely unnecessary. The shootout near the end reminded me of several other interchangeable shootouts, at one point I had to ask myself what movie I was watching because I'd seen nearly the same staging somewhere else. The only surprise to me, the uninformed, was Emma Rigby, who is a knockout with her hair down. I hope she matures into an interesting entertainer.

I went into this movie without much preknowledge about it. A bunch of college students cover their student loans by doing scams with credit cards. One day they trick the wrong person and a crime boss urges them to pay their debt of 2 million dollars in 2 weeks. That is the basic setup from where the film draws its suspense and interest. I have to say it kind of fails to deliver, though. The beginning does a good job of filling in the characters and is enjoyable. The characters seem to follow the typical role prototypes. Camera direction is competent, there are very beautiful shots, and the few action scenes are not bad. On a side note, Emma Rigby looks gorgeous in here, although she has a very barbie-like vibe going on. The thought crossed my mind that the movie title actually fit her best... The actual heist they are planning is a lackluster. In the end, you realize that it is actually dumb, and there are some major plot holes involved. There are moment where you scratch your head wondering how dumb the characters act. There are tons of alternatives with better script, story and acting. Nevertheless, if you are in the mood for a lightly fun little heist movie, you may watch it. You won't miss something, though.

Purportedly based on truth, Plastic has the feel of an urban myth with a great many liberties taken with the legend. But why let the truth get in the way of a good film? Ah… Plastic sees co-writer and director Julian Gilbey reteam with his star of A Lonely Place to Die, Ed Speelers, as Sam, the leader of a quartet of petty criminals. Paying university fees and making life a little easier with credit card fraud, they rip off the wrong guy. Not only is Marcel (Thomas Kreschmann) the wrong guy, he's also a far bigger criminal than Sam et al, he's not averse to extreme violence and he wants an apology in the form of £2m within two weeks. With their lives at stake Sam's gang plans an audacious diamond heist.Plastic is a good idea badly executed and true to its title. Everybody tries too hard. Gilbey clearly has his eye on the teenage boy market and ensures that the first twenty minutes contains all the ingredients to excite them: nudity, drugs, fast cars, obscenities, violence. Ho hum. There is no let up, no consideration for subtlety and the score is the audio equivalent of a large, flashing, neon sign that declares "Feel something… NOW!" Kreschmann (Open Grave, Valkyrie) aside, the performances largely range from weak and obvious to Made in Chelsea reject. Emma Rigby is particularly fascinating for her inability to harness the impression of believability. As for Will Poulter (Son of Rambow, We're the Millers), it's not a bad performance as Fordy, just an unfortunate choice of film.Plastic is a clumsily directed, stilted and dull attempt to combine the Englishness of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels with the glitz of Now You See Me but fails to come close to either. The final shoot out is presumably an homage to numerous, better crime films but is so protracted, obvious and badly edited that it is little more than a half-assed rip-off.Some kinds of plastic cannot be recycled. Some are doomed to become landfill.For more reviews from The Squiss, subscribe to my blog and like the Facebook page.