Blood and Money

Yeah, I know what you thought when you checked the title. "Another Berenger sell-out." How I loved to hate him in Platoon - he is, after Gregory Peck, the greatest living Ahab (as of this writing). So, for this film... you will be pleasantly surprised.

Mr. Berenger (Jim Reed) actually gets to carry the bulk of the movie! That's right, you only get the glammy sell-out corn near the end, and even then only for a few scenes (essentially, wherever the dialog is overpowered by the f-bomb - I'm no prude, but - come on - get a thesaurus!).

So, you actually get Mr. Berenger at an advanced age playing a somewhat suitable character. While I believe the role is still perhaps ten years ago for most actors, Mr. Berenger plays it eloquently (with just the proper count of sighs, groans, and moans - take this from an old guy). I believe him, and I see echoes of Sgt. Barnes in his demeanor.

If the powers-that-be of this film had allowed Mr. Berenger to play it straight, in character, to the end, they might have had an "art film" on their hands. Such a shame.

Still. Bravo, Maestro. Bravo.

-S

After seeing previous recent Berenger films I was beginning to think he had lost a bit of his Platoon sparkle but after watching this I can still say there is life in the old dog yet.

The film is your basic casino heist and search for for the cash in the winter mountains of Allagash but what makes this rise above the usual drivel is Berengers performance. Now either he is old , weak and frail in reality or he portrayed the role with perfection. You almost feel every step he takes, every wheeze that comes out of his mouth as he slowly and lugubriously makes his way through the carnage and you really feel for the character, I was egging him on; you just want the pace to move faster but it does not and that is its strength not its weakness as some other reviewers have pointed out. It feels like you the viewer are walking through molasses with him and that is a great achievement for any actor. The movie may be too slow for a lot of the crash, bang, wallop brigade but stick with it as it pulls no punches.

Stir in some zero mercy / zero compromise action which is rather unexpected in these days of political correctness and the despatch of the bad guys is carried off with Platoon-like viciousness which adds to the movies allure, it does not have the usual Hollywood happy ending which is always a bonus and gives the viewer a deft little twist at the end which I always like to see.

It is not going to win any oscars but it does prove that Berenger is still a force to be reckoned with and it gets a solid 6.5/10 from me as I thoroughly enjoyed it and so should you if you stick with it to the end.

Slow. Sparse. Real. Mournful. Bleak is probably the correct adjective. Suspend belief? And some. Jim Reed isn't Ethan Matthew Hunt but he should be to perform the things he does. With one knee, a bit of timber and a lack of blood. In minus temperatures too. The ending is surprising. And worth the wait. Maybe.

They are getting old, the supernovas that held our nerves back in the 70's and 80's. they do of course need butter on the bread too, so why not make another film in the glory of ageing, before the stars fades out to oblivion, though tom berenger will survive in the memory of 3 generations to come, he has had his glory moments....and his caracterisation effort in blood and money isnt a lowdown at all.

hes a hunter, searching maine for deers, till he takes a devastating blow of shooting a fur coated .....female, with a fortune of money in her baggage. , then the human hunt is on, with all his might and blood clothing cough of vanishing physical condition fading fast due to old age. no more i shall tell, just say its intense, but very very slow.

what makes me drool is the scripted story, and the choice of support cast to this film.its not at all good. then comes the score, wich can tell if its a good or bad movie. is it a synth score, well its a cheap and most surtainly a bad flick.

so mr. berenger, the grumpy old man remembers you best from lurking in the viatnamese jungel, so ending the show in the state of maine remaines to see if it was a success or not. its a small recommend, ive seen worse, and ive seen better features.

I'm a fan of Tom Berenger so watched the whole 85 minutes of this movie. There is little dialogue and the 5 or 6 characters (Tom included) earn their money by simply walking around in the snow and shooting at each other. Tom tries very hard to be a tired and sickly old timer, Jim Reed, but it is painful to watch this excellent actor in such a crappy role. Clint could have done this better. He's older than Tom. This movie could have been edited to 60 minutes tops. It's terribly tedious and slow.