Contrarreloj

Not really, especially if you think about what he did last year (Mechanic, Jason Statham) and more recently with Expandables 2. So Stolen is kind of the odd one out of that trio of movies. While it does have some fine acting talent involved, it never really takes off. It's not a complete letdown either, so you get a movie by the numbers.

There's quite a few things that you can see coming (rather predictable then) and the story does have some neat coincidences happening, that could only happen in a movie like this. One of my pet peeves gets checked too (unfortunately). It's when a character explains what is obvious. It's selling the viewer short (most of them anyway) and it's something I don't like at all.

Acting-wise it's OK and the "tension" is there almost until the end.

The plot is rather simple and not original, but chases during and within Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans are interesting to watch (here, adding the carnival does make sense, in most other movies it is just meant to confuse viewers and chasers). However, the "final end" could have been different, more sophisticated.

Nicholas Cage is good as usual, but the real star (and best villain) of the movie is John Lucas - vicious inside and outside. Female characters tend to be sketchy, although actresses do their best.

An OK movie for killing time, but it is neither Heat nor Snatch or similar. A typical Cage-related action.

If you are wondering, "Why is Nicolas Cage starring in a movie that only got a token theatrical release before being dumped on DVD?", well, from what I've heard, Cage's overspending combined with a massive tax debt has made him take less prestigious projects in order to raise money. Actually, I had high hopes for this movie, because it was a production from Millennium Films, a company that often makes high quality action movies. However, this movie is one of their rare misses. Technically, the movie is above average for a movie aimed primarily at the DVD market. However, the basic story has been told so many times before that there are few surprises this time around. Most likely you'll be impatient long before the end because at times the movie seems to be stretching things out. Also, Cage's character never really becomes sympathetic - you'll never get involved in his plight and be rooting for him. And this is yet another movie where filmmakers don't know how heavy gold bars are in real life! Let's hope Cage managed to pay off his debts with this movie so he can be free to pick more quality projects.

The revenge plot has been done to death. Kidnapping the protagonist's daughter has been done to death. Everything about this movie has been done before, and done much, much better. This is just another extortion movie where the former friend of a former bank robber wants his share of the heist, and kidnaps the hero's (Nicolas Cage) daughter as ransom. The thing is, Cage burned the money. So how is he going to pay this lunatic? Well, he's gotta commit one more heist for it to be all over. Sound predictable? That's because it is.

Every beat of this movie is predictable. It wouldn't be so bad if they added some depth to the characters but everything is so one-dimensional. Will (Nicolas Cage) loves his daughter and used to rob banks - that's all we get as far as character development. Vincent (played by Josh Lucas) wants money. They both were involved with a robbery gone wrong at the start of the film and Will burned the money before being arrested and jailed for eight years, but Vincent still wants his share. He waited eight years to exact his revenge. Eight. And the diabolical plan he came up with during that time is to kidnap Will's daughter and threaten to kill her if he doesn't get paid. It's like the writers weren't even trying.

What the writers do is explain EVERYTHING that's happening to the audience. They spoon-feed everything with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, and this constitutes about 90% of the dialogue: Explaining what you are seeing on screen. The other 10% is forced relationships and throwaway police banter. It's really stupid. Watching the movie on mute is probably much more entertaining.

Let's talk about the villain for a minute because he's really quite a character, or caricature rather. He has no personality whatsoever so they give him all of these weird traits to mask the fact that he's boring as all f*ck. A metal stick for a leg, long messy hair, a rugged shady look, a twisted sense of morals, and he's a cab driver. It's like baby's first psychopath. Now I don't blame Josh Lucas for this at all, in fact he makes the character watchable, but not even good acting can save the villain from being a walking, talking cliché.

The police are just stupid in this. Stupider than usual in fact. They're not even worth talking about. All you need to know is that you know what you're getting into with this movie before it even starts and it gives you absolutely no surprises or suspense. It's a by-the-numbers action thriller with Nicolas Cage. It has a few funny moments sure, most are unintentional, but if you're hoping that this would at least be a fun, over-the-top Nicolas Cage action movie, then I'm afraid you'll be sorely disappointed. Stolen is overwhelmingly and sometimes painfully average.

Nicolas Cage is one of those A-list classified actors that somehow manage to churn movies out left and right no matter the quality or subject matter. His over the top persona is most likely the biggest reason delivering some memorable characters whether you like him or not. The trailer for his latest Stolen comes off more like a rehash of Taken, but with Cage's added unique character delivery and Expendables 2 director Simon West in the mix could it give something a bit more or will it be another in a long line of low end releases to Cage's career?

Stolen follows a former thief frantically searching for his missing daughter, who has been kidnapped and locked in the trunk of a taxi, while trying to avoid FBI agents convinced he is lying and looking to find the money he stole 8 years prior. While the story seems like Taken it really isn't. Yeah there are similarities, but really no more than there is in tons of other action thrillers in this genre. The story here is more straight-forward and on a smaller scale, but still works fairly well. Cage delivers a bit more of a relaxed performance, but still manages to execute some of his over the top performance in there from time to time. Luckily it's usually when it is needed so doesn't distract too much from the overall film. The supporting cast is pretty good featuring Malin Ackerman, Mark Valley, Danny Huston, and Josh Lucas who seemed to take over with the over the top delivery here. While a bit silly at times, Lucas character still works decently. What really make this film work at all are the decent action and the clever robbery scenarios. It has become pretty rare to deliver something all that interesting in film bank jobs, but here they did some pretty creative stuff.

This is a pretty average action thriller, but works well enough to have some fun. Most likely this only got theatrical release thanks to West's success on Expendables 2 and Cage's name, because on some levels it really feels more like a straight to video release. Either way, fans of Cage will have a good time and most likely everyone else will have mixed opinions.

http://www.examiner.com/movie-in-dallas/bobby-blakey