Fais leur voir Malone

There is much to like about Give 'em Hell Malone. It is a deliciously gorgeous and entertaining comic book noir, which manages to be both exiting and funny. This is the film that Sam Raimi's Darkman could've been if it was a bit smarter.

The plot is a bit convoluted, but you end up not really caring. It is a fun ride, and is also the first time since Deep Blue Sea in which Thomas Jane has actually impressed me. On account of his lack of variety and charisma, Jane is only cut out for soft spoken/slick persona, individualist characters. Mr. Malone qualifies.

It should also be noted that Give 'em hell Malone is occasionally played for laughs. The script throws out a lot of one liners and a few quirks, which helps turn the smile on my face into a giggle. It ain't a terribly long movie, and by the end, you may find yourself exited for more. I guess the makers are exited too because Give 'em Hell Malone ends with a 'To Be Continued'

Hard to know if and when a second part will get the green light any time soon, but I would certainly embrace it. If you can find Give 'em hell Malone, you should check it out.

During the beginning shootout scene I could sort of tell what style of movie I was in for, as the movie progressed it is just way more silly and wacky than I expected it to be. It basically is a over the top and ridiculous ambient of film-noir. The acting wasn't that good, but really annoyed me is the character Matchstick who is basically a wannabe Joker. The movie has it's moments and I liked how it didn't really take itself seriously. Thomas Jane who played Malone was okay with his role, especially cause of his voice which has the noir detective feel to it. The characters basically have a cartoon feel to it and not developed very well. And the setting is a mix of the 50's and present, I guess it's cause of the budget or for the younger audiences. The script isn't very well written, but the twist was okay since I didn't see it coming since I thought it was going to be predictable. For a straight to DVD movie, it's pretty good overall.

6.8/10

Former Detective and now freelance vigilante (for lack of a better description) Malone (Jane) believes he was set up and he needs to find out why the box everyone is trying to get is so important.

Watching this movie was like watching a comic book come to life. The dialogue, costumes, and cars from the 1940s made it so. I know many action movies are based on comic book super heroes, but this was going a bit too far and I almost shut it down. And, as far as I know there was no comic book based on the Malone character (I could be wrong about it, but…….I'm just saying).

There is so much shooting and killing in the beginning, sleepy time was coming upon me. But, nothing else was on tap so I stayed with it. Actually, it was quite entertaining and not bad at all. Yes, the shootings and killings went on unabated, but there was a story in there too. Honest.

For those of you (and me too) who forgot who Thomas Jane is let me fill us all in. He is the Punisher in those other movies actually based upon The Punisher comic book. Well, he may as well have been the Punisher in this one too. But as he says, he is a hard one to kill and yet, he does take some pretty hard whacks, and gunshots too. But, not to worry his mother tends to his gunshot wounds.

This Malone character doesn't mess around and neither does Doug Hutchinson appropriately called Matchstick, who likes to light fires every place he goes to kill people. Ving Rhames is a mountain of a man and if I heard it right, his character, Boulder, used to work with Malone back in the day on the job (Police work). The only thing he is afraid of is the story he believes that Malone actually reached in and took the hearts out of the people who killed his whole family and ate the hearts. And, let's not forget Gregory Harrison (as Whitmore), from some medical TV show back in the day. Well, he's a meanie in here and likes to use a baseball bat.

This is non-stop action, shootings and killings,but there is a story in here. Honest. You just have to stay with it. Okay, some twists too.

A meaningless note: sometimes Thomas Jane sounds like James Arness You know from Gunsmoke back in the day.

Oh, one more thing. There is a note at the end of the movie that says: TO BE CONTINUED. Can't wait.

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: Yes, a brief shot of Elsa Pataky in the shower. Language: Yes.

As a matter of fact, it's a typical specimen of comic noir style, mixing traditional elements of ''Sin City'' and ''Dick Tracy'' films it portrays black & sharp humored, seamless, vivacious and agile detective story. In one breath, ''Give 'em Hell, Malone'' rapidly and aesthetically carries spectator through the subtle nuances of swirling plot, leaving pleasant impressions from what you've seen. Love, sharp humor, betrayal, cruelty, selfishness. Everything presents here in good supply.

Perfectly balanced characters like rollicking main hero Malone who's got two favorite things: drink and shoot. Sexy beauty Evelyn who trying' to avenge her killed brother. Big guy Boulder whose feelings wave between good and bad side. Charismatic evildoers such as Graceful Asian girl called Mauler who likes to play with sharp toys and Matchstick who always utters reckless wised expressions and crazy philosophy resembled Heath Ledger's character Joker from the Dark Knight movie.

Wonderfully made operator's work constantly absorbs attention. For only 15 000 000$ creators made a beautiful action that can compete to the dozens of high budgetary blockbusters. Astonishing result indeed. Yes, here we can find a lot of bugs and disadvantages in the script but it's not really a drawback of the film, there is no emphasis on a deep plot, everything is simple and ingenious, to keep you relaxing and funning. It's just a crazy and well stylized mess nothing more.

Even if you ain't got much grasp of noir, ''Give 'em Hell, Malone'' is a great movie for spending free time and taking some rest.

It plays like a noir, it looks like a noir and it feels like a film noir ... So it must be a film noir! And it is. A pretty violent and bloody one, but still. There is everything here, that the formula would need. Except it does seem to play in another universe. Because you can't define it what time period in "our" world this is supposed to be. You have old cars and "old" clothing, but you also have cell phones and other newer inventions.

But if you get hung up on the time period thing or get bothered by the fact, that this couldn't be played out in the "real" world and therefor is not a "pure" noir movie, than you would miss on the entertaining part of the movie. Thomas Jane, who seems the go to guy, if you need a "B-movie" action Hero (Punisher, Mutant Chronicles), but also has the weight of knowing what he is doing as an actor. A very fine choice for the lead role. "The Damsel in Distress" and other characters fill in quite nicely.

After a very powerful beginning (an action scene, that gives you enough entertainment already), the thriller aspect of the movie kicks in. Nicely played (out) and beautifully shot and edited!