The Locksmith

IN A NUTSHELL: This is the directorial debut of Nicolas Harvard.

Miller (Ryan Phillippe), an ex-con recently released from prison for a bungled robbery, tries to walk a straight line and work his way back into the lives of his ex, Beth (Kate Bosworth), a police detective, and their young daughter. While Miller is doing his best to stay on the straight and narrow with the help of an old friend (Ving Rhames), he finds his past will not stay in the past, and he is forced to commit one last crime before he can truly walk away. Things once again go badly, and now not only his freedom but also his daughter's life, hang in the balance.

We've seen a lot of movies like this before. It's not particularly unique, but it's still entertaining.

THINGS I LIKED: I really like Ryan Phillippe. He's always a believable actor in his roles. Have you seen his recent TV series "Shooter"? He's fantastic in it! In this role, Ryan creates a character that we want to believe in and root for, despite his past mistakes.

Kate Bosworth always does a great job too.

Rounding out the talented cast are Ving Rhames, Charlie Weber, and Jeffrey Nordling.

We get to learn to pick locks. Ha ha

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: There are some bad CGI moments that are very noticeable.

The story, itself, is very straightforward and formulaic with no twists or turns to make it more interesting.

I would love to have seen more symbolic connections to locks, keys, and locksmiths.

It's frustrating to watch an ex-con want to get clean and leave his life of crime, only to be forced back in against his will. He DOES have a choice, but it's a terrible situation to be in.

Sadly, the movie is entirely forgettable. Meh.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Profanity, including F-bombs We see people shoot and kill other people, sometimes with blood Conversations about call girls.

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I almost have to attribute many low scores on good little movies these days on the fact that the vast majority of people are just not properly educated about what makes a quality production. Before cell phones and internet, people watched a LOT more movies. Thusly, their attention spans were forced to actually stay and think about what they were watching, or had just watched after it was over. Because of the vast amount of constant entertainment choices at everyone's finger tips these days, people are constantly trying to find something better the minute something ends. I believe it's a very solid 6.5 movie. Everyone did an excellent job all-around here. It also has a very intelligently written script. Gutzy, tense, not overly mellow-dramatic, and never gets preachy. It definitely delivers.

Yes, but its the kind of thriller that the primetime tv channels hallmark and lifetime wants to do but doesnt dare to do in danger of loosing faithful viewers, due to the fact that there are gunslinging and devilish decieft and blood connected to them, and that scares at least half of the subscribers over to a cleaner network...

what im trying to say is that this crimeprime of a lifetime was just like a flat tv production, well known acting names and a decent done cameraskills, it gives nothing more than a meehh and a moehh storywise and with a lack of a DA that knows the law breaking code, everything stays just as they were after shooting 3 cops and a half.

So what i mean to say is , its not the acts ... and well there are loads of plotholes in the story that a sherlock nose would hate, so therefore do not put expectations too high, cause youll be hunting low too like the grumpy old man.just a small wink for this one.

Director Nicohalas Harvard tries very much to keep the movie as an action thriller but still fails to attempt as the story fells flat in the end. Movie starts with a basic plot character buildup is good but just feel average as there very much limited characters are involved in this storyline. Locksmith profession is well utilized in the film and that's one of the thing that keeps the movie engaging. Performance of lead cast is good but there's nothing much to do except for basic character play. There's a lot of good scenes that director can add in the film whether it's action sequences or story telling but all were missing. But still it's definitely a one time watch flick as movie is engaging screenplay is good but don't expect much as it is very limited....

I've never a more emphatic 5 in my life. It's not horrible, it's not good either. It's a 5. Average film. The dialogue is only written to move the plot along. You've probably seen this same plot 2 dozen times with different settings and variables.

The acting is okay, ving rhames is good, but mostly it's just a go through the motions movie. Good guy, bad guys, good cop, bad cops, evil real estate guy, some tepid violence. It's really a movie I'll never think about again.

It's like when you write a movie and you want everyone to agree, not take any risks and make a cookie cutter film that's been done a hundred times. This is that movie. If you love average stuff and like to be bored and see a through the motions movie then this is your jam!!!