One of the original five against the house films, this one set in Great Britain Ex soldiers use their skills to knock over a formidable source of money.
In this case a bank.
This succeeds where Ocean's Eleven failed miserably. Why? When one looks at these films, a person with any foresight can see that the project is one difficult to make interesting.
It sounds interesting when five or six friends talk about the idea, but to the smartest in the group, it will look like what it is, a dead end.
It's just hard to make something like this interesting.
Five Against the House was fairly dull. Sinatra's original Ocean group was worse than boring. It was the pillar of tedium. And we know there were many charismatic actors in that film. It isn't the actors, it is the idea that is lame, and it requires superb writing and directing to make it even partly bearable.
Hawkins and crew are an asset. This role really fits a presence like Hawkins more than a charismatic "everyman" like Sinatra.
The writing and directing are what make this a success, though. In an urban situated film, it is extremely hard to find settings that aren't dull. Ocean's 11 failed horribly there.
Here, we get some better scenery. Even the city shots are quick moving, with not too much emphasis on the ordinary or traffic. And much of it is during the dramatic smoke screen.
The characters are way more interesting than Ocean's characters. And the plot is written better. We never knew what was going on in Ocean, but here, there is a logical, even if far fetched, course.
In Ocean, we were expected to exalt some characters for no reason. It was as though they were in their own little world. The audience had to exalt them because they were Sinatra, Davis, Martin, Silva.
But here, the characters don't put on airs, unless it is demanded. They come across as much more alive and identifiable, and a million times more interesting. Men of mystery are men of mystery because they don't act mysterious. Those who do look like goofballs.
So while Ocean's goofballs fail, this group conjures up a bit of interest. You can actually watch the film start to finish. You can't do that with Ocean.
In this case a bank.
This succeeds where Ocean's Eleven failed miserably. Why? When one looks at these films, a person with any foresight can see that the project is one difficult to make interesting.
It sounds interesting when five or six friends talk about the idea, but to the smartest in the group, it will look like what it is, a dead end.
It's just hard to make something like this interesting.
Five Against the House was fairly dull. Sinatra's original Ocean group was worse than boring. It was the pillar of tedium. And we know there were many charismatic actors in that film. It isn't the actors, it is the idea that is lame, and it requires superb writing and directing to make it even partly bearable.
Hawkins and crew are an asset. This role really fits a presence like Hawkins more than a charismatic "everyman" like Sinatra.
The writing and directing are what make this a success, though. In an urban situated film, it is extremely hard to find settings that aren't dull. Ocean's 11 failed horribly there.
Here, we get some better scenery. Even the city shots are quick moving, with not too much emphasis on the ordinary or traffic. And much of it is during the dramatic smoke screen.
The characters are way more interesting than Ocean's characters. And the plot is written better. We never knew what was going on in Ocean, but here, there is a logical, even if far fetched, course.
In Ocean, we were expected to exalt some characters for no reason. It was as though they were in their own little world. The audience had to exalt them because they were Sinatra, Davis, Martin, Silva.
But here, the characters don't put on airs, unless it is demanded. They come across as much more alive and identifiable, and a million times more interesting. Men of mystery are men of mystery because they don't act mysterious. Those who do look like goofballs.
So while Ocean's goofballs fail, this group conjures up a bit of interest. You can actually watch the film start to finish. You can't do that with Ocean.