City of Industry

Oh good another heist gone wrong movie - and it stars Harvey Keitel! The film started well and I thought it would compare favourably with other heist movies. However this one is pretty slow and not really interesting. Stephen Dorff is just mean and doesn't really act. Harvey Keitel is OK but elements of his performance are unoriginal and it's almost like the director said "Harvey - remember that bit at the end of Resevoir Dogs where you cried and struggled with your emotions? ok do that!".

Every element of this film reaks of copy of other films with the end result being quite poor.

Don't confuse the slow dark atmosphere of this film for it being thoughtful or deep - it's an atmospheric copy of better films.

Keitel runs, walks, staggers, stumbles, and crawls through "City of Industry" to settle a score with fellow thief Dorff in this surprisingly entertaining but gritty and violent action/drama from the same mold as "Reservoir Dogs". Janssen plays a babe (what else?) caught up in the vendetta filmed in just about every seedy part of Los Angeles. Good stuff for crime buffs and Keitel fans into violent gangster-type flicks.

I agree with Stephen. I watched this film mainly to see Harvey Keitel's work: I was wholly unprepared for the slam-bang surprise after the heist. I think it's a great revenge flick in the full Bronson mode.

Good atmosphere, but ultimately empty. I love Keitel's work and was prepared to enjoy this movie. I did, for about the first half of the movie. Then came the jarring errors in continuity, like Keitel climbing out of a lake in the dark, breathing heavily, after being chased there in daylight. And the clumsy look-he-dropped-the-motel-key scene (how did Keitel get back into his room after that?). I'm still wondering about the black and Chinese gangs, and what they had to do with anything else in the movie. All in all, I kept waiting for the dynamic climax that would explain why the movie was made, but it never happened. Recommended for fans of good L.A. photography, and for fans of mindless violence (I expected a lot of things from this movie, but "mindless" wasn't one of them).

Sure, you can find some plots holes in this film big enough to drive a semi through, but that just keeps it from gathering awards, not from being worth a view.

If you like revenge flicks, and noir, and lots of action, as well as a look at Lucy's Little Lius as she does a pole dance, then you might find this film interesting.

What makes it most interesting, however, is the presence of Harvey Keitel. Having him hunting you down is a real bummer. He manages to get shot and almost beat to a pulp by the Chinese, and still keeps on ticking like a Timex. Maybe he just dreamed of being on the beach in Port Arthur with Famke Janssen (of X-Men fame). It could have happened! Check it out to see who wins and loses and enjoy the ride because it is worth it.