The Piano Player

I rented this film expecting it to be like The Point Men, Vercingetorix and Lambert's latest crap films. But I was surprised it wasn't that bad. It runs at less then 90 minutes...although it can be a quite boring film (feels like 2 hours). The film tells the story of a rich lawyer (Dennis Hopper) who lives in South Africa and his life is in danger, some voodo/vodoo practicing crimelord wants him dead, so he (Hopper) brings in the help of Christopher Lambert to protect him. The film has a series of flashbacks which all make sense when you see the end of the film. There are some very beautiful shots of the South African landscape. I'll give this a 5.5/10, it's better then the latest turkeys Lambert has released on video lately and if you always thought of going to South Africa...this film might convince you to go.

It's one of my favorite movies, alongside with City of God, Emperor and Assassin, etc. And I don't know exactly why.

Well, it's not a masterpiece. But there's something what intrigued me very much.

First of all, this movie is (about) a journey. It's amazing journey of a cynical modern man. Journey to the childhood, the family, humanity, truth.

Second thing, which I very like in this movie, is atmosphere. There's something of "magic realism" of Africa/Latin America definitely.

When i visit IMDb, I was really surprised, how underrated is this movie. Maybe it's because the actors?

I have to admit, when I saw the cast, I did expect a lot more than what I got served. You could say it is a bit my fault for expecting ... but on the other hand I really do not know what to make of this movie overall.

The action is decent I guess .. but considering the people in front of the screen, you sometimes might wonder if there are amateurs at work. It has a couple of moments - and Dennis Hopper almost channels Gary Busey ... but not at his craziest level ... still quite mad. And the resolution/ending? Again not many words for that I can convey what ... it is ... what it tries to do - I know it does not succeed on any real level.

I'm a big fan of Lambert and in my book he can do no wrong.The Piano Player is a entertaining movie with good directing,solid screenplay and great actors and music.Not better then Resurrection,but much better then The Point Men and Vercingétorix.Very good for a movie with 10 million budget.7/10.

South Africa is a country of great beauty and immense atmosphere. A great setting for an intelligent and suspenseful thriller one would say. If they just hadn't spoiled it! What can I say? Every time I rent a Lambert movie I'm being disappointed. This film strikes the viewer through a lack of acting talent, bad filming, awful music and no suspense whatsoever. The story is flat, predictable and makes no sense. There is no explanation of why the South African businessmen is being hunted by a criminal, nor why this guy is in prison or why he is being released. How did Robert Nile get into contact with Laney, know where to find him? The film gives no explanation as for the basic framework of the story. Instead minutes and minutes of the movie are covered by shots of the countryside the car's driving through. It's a film that is hard to stand, even when viewed in fast forward mode.