Circus (2000)

This film could of been a hell of a lot better if they didn't use Brian Conley as a gangster and if they didn't start the film with Christopher Biggins.When I watched this film I had absolutely no idea what was going on. There were too many double crosses and plot twists to make the film believable. The film deserves a 0, but seeing as I there isn't a 0 I gave it a 1.I wouldn't recommend this film to my worst enemy, I would rather poke out my eyeballs with some rusty scissors than watch this film again. I'm telling you, that was an hour and a half of my life I won't get back.If you want to watch a gangster film, don't get this. Watch "Going Off Big Time" or "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" instead.

The movie was funny with many unexpected turns, the characters were hilariously overdone, almost comic book style. The fabulous John Hannah did a great job portraying the con man that got conned, but did he? This underrated Scottish actor is very talented and it is good tosee him in more prominent roles. Fred Ward was great in the role as picture book American "baddie". Famke Janssen was a bit bland but is always nice to look at. The movie was very entertaining, I watched it from beginning to end which is unusual for me. Thumbs up!I definitely recommend it to people with a sense of humor.

"Circus" was barely released in cinemas even in Britain and, from what I understand, skipped US cinemas despite its Columbia backing. It's an okay watch for cable at 3 a.m. (which, interestingly enough, is when I watched it), but that's about it.The movie's scuppered by the ludicrous casting of comedian Brian Conley as a gangster who we see taking a bite of a man's ear in the beginning; he comes off as too playground-villainous to take seriously, and the rest of the movie is just as plausible (tip: do not go and attack and/or threaten people when there are witnesses around, a piece of advice ignored TWICE in the course of the movie). David Logan's script needed some stronger direction and a bit of restraint, instead of piling double-cross upon double-cross until it's soon hard to tell just what the hell's going on, culminating in an "Oh-for-God's-sake!" ending. "Circus" is diverting enough, but a waste of John Hannah, a bigger waste of Fred Ward, something of a waste of Amanda Donohoe, and an absolutely criminal waste of Famke Janssen (who is not only super-fit but, unlike Conley, actually CAN be convincingly tough - it's impossible to believe she appeared in both this and "X-Men" in 2000 ... then again, she did do "House on Haunted Hill"). What she was doing in this movie we can only speculate; did she fancy a trip to Brighton? Or is she a secret fan of "Rebus"? Or "The Brian Conley Show"?And one more piece of advice - don't go mentioning "The Sweet Smell Of Success" in your movie, unless you really want to draw unfair comparisons. Mind you, it's preferable to actually going to a circus; I never liked the things.

I'm sure you've read about the vast twisting of this plot. Many have suggested there are too many. It will be a matter of taste, but for me, if you spin the story around so much in the first 50 mins, I am expecting the story to twist. Thus the final 40 mins become too obvious.There is some solace in calculating how the scam profits the scammers. But the double crossing that occurs is far too obvious from the half way point.##(General twist spoiler, (no plot given away, just whole twist basis)) Mind you, I should have listened to Brian Conleys first words, which were probably "I trust nobody" (Which seems to pop up in every other line). If you assume everyone is lying then there are no twists.##As far as the cast go. John Hannah is good. Famke Janssen can turn from sweetness to bitter as the script demands and Eddie Izzard... poor old Eddie. A genius on the stage, but what is he supposed to do in a film? You wrongly expect Eddie genius on the screen, never gonna happen, unless he does "Goooooooood morning, Royal Variety Show" or something.