I was fully expecting to despise DOMINO, Tony Scott's last film, MAN ON FIRE, kicked ass, right up until the point when Denzel Washington started to kick ass, and then I could feel my brain sort of shrivel up and almost implode from the explosion of over stylisation and laughable onscreen captions. It just didn't work. DOMINO is Scott taking it to the next level, not only are the violent scenes depicted in an even more hallucinogenic light, but the whole film is filled with that said stylisation. The difference between the films though is that in DOMINO's case this actually works in its favour…
A big reason it works so well here is the way the story is told. Based very loosely on the true tale of bounty hunter Domino Harvey who tragically died last year, the film jumps about in time regularly, at once showing the audience both how Domino entered the world she inhabits, and telling the films complex main plot about a bounty pick up gone wrong. Because of the way the film is edited and looks there's a highly kinetic feel to the whole thing that just makes it flow oh so smoothly no matter how often we jump back and forth in time.
At the heart of the film and ultimately why it works as well as it does though, is not Scott's direction, but Keira Knightley's portrayal of the title character. Another reason I just couldn't believe the film would work, Knightley looks like she would snap if you pushed her, so I personally didn't think appearing as a tough bounty hunter would come naturally to the sleek actress, yet she does a brilliant job of being hard assed and keeping her character grounded. Considering the over the top presentation of the film, it's a very believable performance. She is not always likeable in the way she speaks, yet in the end manages to come across as highly sympathetic and needless to say that without her the film wouldn't be as enjoyable as it is and that is mainly down to a somewhat lacking script.
From the badly thought out lines of Knightley's narration to the underwritten supporting characters, Richard Kelly's script never finds time for things that are unquestionably important here. Domino's fellow bounty hunters, played by Mickey Rourke and Edgar Ramirez, were very much like family to her and were obviously important people in her life, yet the film never really shows us why. Rourke's Ed Mosbey is the man she looks up too, like a father figure, but besides the fact that Domino tells us that this is so, we never really see it on film. Rourke's performance is fairly entertaining but its all his doing, the script never gives him anything to work with. Ramirez plays somewhat of a love interest for Domino yet after seeing that all his character can do is speak random Spanish and punch walls like a deranged monkey, its hard to sympathise with who we are again told is suppose to be a great guy. As I mentioned Knightley's narration is also hampered by awful lines that seem to completely lack intelligent thought and she repeats the same nonsensical catchphrases over and over again, its not amusing, and in some cases its actually quite cringe worthy.
It's a shame that these problems exist, as they do hamper the film and if Kelly had put as much effort into his characters and dialogue as he had into the intricacies of the plot and the quite spectacular flow of the story, then this could have been a truly great farewell to the late bounty hunter. As it is, Tony Scott has made the kind of film he is best at making, an unpretentious and stylish thrill fest that is full of flashy wit and explosive action. It could have been better, but it is still a lot of fun.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Loosely based on the real life story of the late bounty hunter Domino Harvey, Keira ... more
Knightley quickly sheds her softer image here with an unflinching performance in the title role. AsDomino, she brandishes guns, reacts against anyone who crosses her, a...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Smart. Daring. Defiant and dangerous. As well as beautiful. This is Domino Harvey and this ... more
is her real life story... well, sort of.The daughter of respected actor and matinee idol Lawrence Harvey and model turned socialite Sophie Wynn (Jacqueline Bisse...
Loosely based on the real life story of the late bounty hunter Domino Harvey, Keira ... more
Knightley quickly sheds her softer image here with an unflinching performance in the title role. AsDomino, she brandishes guns, reacts against anyone who crosses her, a...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
The already larger than life story of Domino Harvey (daughter of British actor Laurence ... more
Harvey) a former Ford model turned bounty hunter takes on mythological proportions in Tony Scott's fast-paced action thriller; fashioned from a script by Donnie D...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![Domino [DVD] [2005]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78501021.jpg "Domino [DVD] [2005]")
Feb 18th, 2006
(Dec 11th, 2007)
very helpful by (100%):
