Production Year: 2005 - Action & Adventure - Director: David J. Burke - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Dylan McDermott, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, Piper Perabo, Cary Elwes, John Heard, Justin Timberlake, LL Cool J more
Former N-Sync star Justin Timberlake makes his acting debut in this gritty crime thriller, playing a young journalist who uncovers massive police corruption in the town of Edison.... more
Edison DVD
No One Is Above The Law... Academy Award winners Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey lead an ... more
all-star cast in Edison Force a story of a corrupt city where the cops are above the law and the truth can get you killed. When rookie reporter Josh Pollack (Jus...
an all-star cast in Edison Force a story of a corrupt city where the cops are above the law and the truth can get you killed. When rookie reporter Josh Pollack (Justin Timberlake) overhears a puzzling exchange between an accused murderer and arresting officer Raf Deed (LL Cool J) he begins to conduct his own investigation. What he finds is a lawless corps of police officers who confiscate dirty money and split it between the most powerful men in the city. And now only Deed a conscience-stricken cop torn between honor and duty can put an end to the corruption that infests the city of Edison. Revolver (2005): Hotshot gambler Jake Green (Jason Statham) is long on bravado and seriously short of common sense. Rarely is he allowed in any casino because he's a bona fide winner and in fact has taken so much money over the years that he's the sole client of his accountant elder brother Billy. Invited to a private game Jake is expected for fear of losing his life to lose heavily to local crime lord Macha (Liotta). However despite warnings Jake cleans out Macha and must go to work for a pair of brothers who promise to protect him from the inevitable visit of a hitman coming Jake's way... The Hunted (2003): When rogue US special forces operative Aaron Hallam (Benicio Del Toro) goes on the rampage Lieutenant Bonham (Tommy Lee Jones) the man who trained him is brought out of retirement to track him down and bring him to justice. With the help of tenacious FBI agent Abby Durrell (Connie Nielsen) Bonham must bring down the man who can already anticipate his every move before he kills again...
Production Year: 2008 - Action/Adventure - Director: Christopher Nolan - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine
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
A review by salem_witch on Edison (DVD) November 20th, 2007
Author's product rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Liked it
Story
Satisfactory
Characters / Performances
Good
Special Effects
Standard
Soundtrack
Unmemorable
Advantages:
Great cast . JT's first acting role
Disadvantages:
Poor script . Not as good as it could have been
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
When I was looking through Sky Anytime to see if there was anything decent to watch I came across 'Edison'. A quick read of the blurb grabbed my attention simply because of the cast. Something a film with Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey would be worth watching. What concerned me was I had never heard of it and it was filmed in 2005 so it can't be that great. I was also interested to see that Justin Timberlake and LL Cool J were in it. Having seeing LL Cool J in 'S.W.A.T.' and an episode of 'House' I enjoyed watching him. Plus I was curious to see if Timberlake could act as well as he can sing.
Set in the fictitious city of Edison the film opens with Officer Rafe Deed (LL Cool J) and his colleague Sgt. Frances Lazerov (Dylan McDermott), from F.R.A.T. (First Response Assault & Tactical) on their way to a raid. They find money from drugs and then force two men on their knees. Lazerov is clearly enjoying waving his gun around and then tells Deed to shoot one of them. Not being able to go through with it Lazerov takes charge and shoots one of them in the head. In a few short minutes of seeing him on screen it's clear that Lazerov is a psycho and Deed is the one with a conscience. Later on Deed is testifying at the trial. They've made the other man say he shot the other one in the head as he came at him with a knife. Fearing for his life the accused takes responsibility for shooting him and is sentenced to 18 months in prison. Josh Pollack (Justin Timberlake) is a reporter who is present at the trial and he senses that something isn't right and questions Deed and afterwards as to why the defendant thanked him.
Not getting any answers from Deed or Lazerov he decides that something dodgy is going on and decides to investigate. Back in his office his boss Moses Ashford (Morgan Freeman) isn't happy with him and fires him from the community weekly, 'Herald Heights'. This doesn't put Pollack off though and he's determined to get to the bottom of it. Can he find out what's going on before F.R.A.T try and silence him for good? ________________
At first it sounds like a really good film and with Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey being billed first you expect them to be in it the most. In reality, their roles have very little screen time and you'll notice I haven't even mentioned Spacey in the synopsis. This is because his part as the city's investigator Levon Wallace gets more screen time later on. However, it is a small role and it's even smaller than Freeman's. Both of them acted reasonably well but I have to say it's not their best and not really comparable to all their big box office hits. So if you're going to watch this just for them then you'll be disappointed.
'Edison' is Timberlake's first acting role and he's received a lot of criticism for it. Although his acting isn't faultless I thought for his first main role he did very well. His character was likeable but he didn't have enough passion in trying to find out the truth. So I found that although I liked him I was never really worried about his safety. So when there were parts which were supposed to be tense I didn't start hoping that he'd be ok. I don't feel that this lack of passion was entirely his fault though and the director and the script. There were parts he was really believable and you could tell he was trying his best. For anyone who doesn't like him they'll not see this though and just focus on the bad parts.
For me the best actor was LL Cool J. His character, Deed, is struggling with his conscience throughout the film and although he is in the wrong and investigated he doesn't seem overly bothered about being caught. Uncharacteristically for a member of F.R.A.T. he has a fiancée and it's during flashbacks of what they've done when he's with her that he feels guilty. In contrast McDermott's character Lazerov is a loose cannon. In the opening scene he clearly doesn't mind shooting people just to keep their money, in fact, he looks like he's enjoying himself. I've never seen him in any other films before so I can't compare him but his portrayal of Lazerov was excellent and I found myself wondering what he'll do next, as he's so out of control.
There are other actors that you'll recognise. John Heard plays Capt. Brian Tilman, the head of F.R.A.T. and he plays it very well. I knew I'd seen him in things before but as I was watching it I couldn't worked it out. It surprised me to learn that he was the Dad in Home Alone. In 'Edison' he's a cool and calculated evil man who doesn't even react when Lazerov goes off on one at him. Cary Elwes (SAW) features as D.A. Jack Reigert. He doesn't have a huge part and I never really noticed that it was him, possibly because when he's on screen the other big stars are. Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly) plays Timberlake's girlfriend but again doesn't have a huge part.
Films about corrupt cops have been made before so 'Edison' brings nothing new to the screen for viewers. There are better films out there but I still found this entertaining even if it didn't hold my attention all the time. The director and writer David J Burke hasn't really made the most of the actors and the script isn't that great. The scenes, which were supposed to be tense, weren't very convincing so I didn't find myself gripped by them. Combined with that there was also lack of character development. This meant I didn't care too much for them. It could have been so much better and as a result has had lots of bad reviews and didn't even get a cinema release. It was shown at Toronto Film Festival and got a very bad response, which is why it went straight on to DVD. I can see why as I don't think it would have made much had it been released in the cinema, apart from people going to see it because of the actors.
The other aspects of the film I didn't like were the music. It was played too loud and sometimes drowned out what the actors were saying. There is nothing wrong with my hearing and I found myself having to concentrate in some of the scenes where they cranked the volume of the music up. A prime example of this is the opening scene where Deed is talking. Also parts of the plot were a bit far fetched. The first being the fact that Pollack picks up on the 'thank you' said in court and reads into it. It would have been better if they'd found another way of him suspecting that F.R.A.T. was corrupt and going from there.
There were a few silly scenes - one involving Moses dancing. I don't know why he did but it reminded me of Hugh Grant's dance in 'Love Actually'. The music playing the Chambers Brothers for you who know them. This was at the end of a scene, which again the music was played too loud to hear the dialogue clearly. The other part I thought was daft was a proposal in a nightclub. Would anyone do that? Most of the film has plenty of action in it and the violence isn't too graphic which the 15 certificate supports. Some of the action scenes are a little over the top but I guess that was thrown in to make up for the poor script.
Although I've said the acting isn't the best (some would argue it's really bad!) it wasn't so bad that I got bored and wanted to turn it off. I'd imagine that most people who have watched this have been hugely disappointed because of the cast involved and expecting a quality film. I'd recommend it but only just. And then only to those who don't mind it's weaknesses and don't expect an Oscar winning film. I did enjoy watching Timberlake on screen and I'll certainly be looking out for 'Alpha Dog' when it comes on to Sky.
Advantages: Good Entertainment, easy watching and some big names Disadvantages: Never really gets to where you want it to go
Showed all the signs of being a good film with some big names such as Morgain Freeman and Kevin Spacey, also features a good performance from Justin Timberlake and LL Cool J
Basically the story is about a corrupt US drug Squad called FRET who are doing massive drug busts ceasing the money and the drugs, killing all the suspects and claiming and laundering the money to set up a foundation for them to control the city. Story starts when one such bust ... ...is reviewing the case for a loca free paper and picks up on the fact that the accused "thanks" a member of FRET for testifing, and decides to pursue the case further. Despite a beating and several attempts on his life some senior investigators eventually decided to investigate FRET causing the key witnesses to the case to be systemactially killed off until exposed by the persistant timberlake
A good film which is easy to watch and follow but never ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Well known actors, keeps you watching, an enjoyable action film Disadvantages: Can get lost relatively easily and a slight overuse of guns
I recently bought this film because of the big names and the action adventure and I really enjoyed it! its a real boys film with guns, money, fighting, but with the reality of family and a corrupt force. However you have to be prepared for the overuse of the guns - if your squimish i'd probably stay away. The film uses 4 great big named characters and although I was warey of Justin Timberlakes performance in it at first I thought that he was a good ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
...Once every blue moon a film comes along that's so great that you want to tell the world about it; Edison or Edison Force is one such movie. The film itself received a bit of controversy in the United States because initial viewings by test audiences did not rate it too highly; this caused the movie to go straight to DVD in the United States. But Edison is not your standard straight to movie fare; it's an incredibly well rounded movie that's a rollercoaster ride from the minute you turn on; budget wise its not too shy either because besides the special effects it boasts some of biggest names in show business.
F.R.A.T. is an organization within the Edison police force, years ago when Edison was a hive of vicious and terrible crimes F.R.A.T. was formed to go undercover in some of the largest crime cartels and defuse the situation. But...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Atmospheric historical drama. Wonderful costumes and sets. Disadvantages: Twists fore-shadowed early in the film too often missed first time around.
...the viewer to keep the prestige till the final moment.
And the final twist, The Prestige . . . Awesome!! Never in million years would you guess upon the prestige!
I think that I have made it clear through the review how much I enjoyed The Prestige. It is a cleverly enacted film filled with constant twists and turns. The magnificent sets, costumes and special effects give an insight into magic and Victorian music hall. The historical factor of the film is interesting particularly the Edison and Tesla sub plot.
The film is rated 12A for the scenes of violence - some of the scenes are quite disturbing The DVD is available from most supermarkets, DVD store, online ranging from £10 - £15. Buy it or rent it. The film is magic!!...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Matthew McConaughey. Disadvantages: Matthew McConaughey just does not 'fit' in this film.
...Uh Oh, Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey in a romantic comedy from the director of Bringing Down The House and A Walk To Remember? Its not that bad, honest!
--- Technical Stuff. ---
Year: 2001.
Cert: PG.
Time Running: 99 Minutes.
Director: Adam Shankman.
--- Cast. ---
Mary Fiore - Jennifer Lopez.
Steve Edison - Matthew McConaughey.
Fran Donelly - Bridgette Wilson.
Massimo Lenzetti - Justin Chambers.
Salvatore Fiore - Alex Rocco.
Penny Nicholson - Judy Greer.
--- DVD Details. ---
- Making-of featurette.
- Documentary - "The Dancer And The Cowboy" (The making of the tango dance scene.)
- Deleted scenes.
- Audio commentary by director Adam Shankman.
--- Plot. ---
Mary Fiore is an ambitious, sleek, incredibly organized wedding planner. You'd expect her to lead a romantic life, but in reality every...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Plot: Former N-Sync star Justin Timberlake makes his acting debut in this gritty crime thriller, playing a young journalist who uncovers massive police corruption in the town of Edison. He joins forces with his cynical mentor, as well as an investigator for the district attorney's office, in order to take on the criminal element in the force, which has until now been implicitly sanctioned.
DVD Description
Former N-Sync star Justin Timberlake makes his acting debut in this gritty crime thriller, playing a young journalist who uncovers massive police corruption in the town of Edison. He joins forces with his cynical mentor (Morgan Freeman, MILLION DOLLAR BABY), as well as an investigator for the district attorney's office (Kevin Spacey, AMERICAN BEAUTY), in order to take on the criminal element in the force, which has until now been implicitly sanctioned. Co-starring are Cary Elwes (SAW), Dylan McDermott (THE PRACTICE), and L.L. Cool J (S.W.A.T.).
Release details
DVD Region: DVD
Studio(s): LIONS GATE HOME ENTERTAINMENT; ELEVATION SALES; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Release date: 22/01/2007
No of Discs: 1
Catalogue No: 9382001000
Barcode: 5060052410931
Languages
Main Language: English
Technical information
Special Features: Absolute Power - Behind the scenes of Edison
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound: Dolby Digital
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Listed on Ciao since : 29/10/2006
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