Styx (2001)

Nelson (Peter Weller), Mike (Angus Macfadyen), and Art (Bryan Brown) are part of a crew. They do an armed bank robbery. It doesn't go exactly right and a guard is killed. They are about to kill the incompetent drug-addicted gun hire when he shoots first. They crash and Art is injured. Afterward, Nelson tries to move on with a normal life. Mike gets into trouble over gambling debts and Nelson is pulled back into doing one last job.This starts with a promising action section. It's inferior cinematically and is more fitting for a TV movie. There is still an explosion, a car chase, and some hope. It is soon obvious that it's not good enough. The action looks more like 80's TV. It's a lot of slow motion and bad dying. These are solid actors. I'm left with the conclusion that director Alex Wright and his South African crew are up to the task of making top rate movies.

Okay, this isn't going to win any awards. However, it's not a bad piece of popcorn entertainment as long as you can ignore some glaring continuity errors and clunky dialogue. The lead performances are unusually strong Bryan Brown plays it just right, MacFadyen does a great scumbag impression while Weller adds gravitas to an unoriginal character. I hadn't seen Weller in anything for a few years and he looks very good for his age, the verbal sparring between Brown and himself are one of the highlights. In many ways, it reminded me of the John Flynn movies of the Eighties full of tough-talking, testosterone blokes, good action and risible dialogue.

Weller is at the center of "Styx" playing a safe cracker who is coerced from retirement to help his brother (MacFayden) pay off gambling debts. A typical Weller B-movie, "Styx" is full of unrealized potential. The beginning, end, and story backbone are strong but the middle tries too hard for the serious drama when it should have just stuck with the proven B-flick action/sex/nudity titilators. The result is a marginal small screen watch at best. (D)

GUN-SLINGING TEAM ROBBERIES BUT NOTHING NEW. JUST AVERAGE. STYX is a `B' movie. There is nothing wrong with `B' movies. They are meant to entertain. Some are made just for TV or cable. Now, some are made for Direct-to-DVD. Many of our favorite actors make a lot of `B' movies in addition to top films: Peter Weller, Dennis Hopper, and Faye Dunaway are examples. I think the reasonableness of evaluating them too carefully is made by Leonard Maltin who confines himself to BELOW-AVERAGE AVERAGE or ABOVE-AVERAGE.STYX for me rates an AVERAGE. The characters and their skills are established by a bank heist in the opening moments. Well-planned, but poorly executed because one of the robbers has poor character. (I can't give too much detail.)The main portion of the film spans preparation for a second robbery. The gang is larger because more talents are required. More motives for the robbery, too, some of which are elaborated in great detail. The issue of personal character arises again. There is the mandatory assembly of specialists, acquisition of equipment. Missing is a dry run or practice exercise, often part of these stories.Then the big heist. Its degree of success depends on every team member meeting or exceeding their assignment. But don't these groups always have a `spoiler' who fouls things up? Or is it the type of story where the spoiler surprises everyone and outdoes himself?There is nothing new here. Most of what we see isn't scripted, acted, or filmed particularly well. But it's a pleasure to see Bryan Brown (F/X 1986) and Peter Weller (ROBOCOP 1987) in the same film, on the same side. The tensions between them are a notch above the balance of the production.