Blood and Money

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.

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

It starts slow, but reasonably. Yet once the 'action' starts, all logic goes out the window. It's like the filmmakers decided to re-write the script once they got on location and the cold froze their brains.

Was it written by a bunch of high schoolers? The amount of stupid, unnatural, forced and illogical steps the characters take is an insult to the audience and all who are in it. Particularly our old man Tom. And he does seem very old. He should have skipped the trip, driven home and drank a cup of soup.

Actually this boring, lame movie rips off a far better film with it's plot twisting act, being The Aura from 2005. Watch that instead. Even if they went on location without a script they could have come up with something more realistic. You have to blame the director for sticking to the script. The only redeeming quality is the location. And the photography. 5 is generous. Lame as a dementia ridden chipmunk with frostbite.

Tom Berenger really does a good job of an old, slow dying man who limps his way through his final few days.

As for the movie... if this had been a 'Nordic' film with a Nordic cast this would probably have been better received... as it is, it's an American film, so the jury haven't been so kind.

It's a film of two halves and the first half is brilliant. A great sense of atmosphere and the cold, FREEZING outdoors! The direction jumps around quickly to set up the location and the characters.

The second half turns into a routine slugfest between the good guy (Tom) and some silly men who are after some stolen money. It's a wonder how they pulled off this heist at all, given that they are all stupid and all prone to make stupid decisions!

I saw it through to the end because it started off so well, and I like Tom... but by the end I was a bit annoyed.

Tom Berenger Fans out there will dig this Movie about a Retired Marine (Jim Reed) Living and Hunting in the Icy Cold of Northern Maine. Fairly simple Plot twists, see Trailer, but if you Watch til the end you will Root for his character. Reasonable Run Time. (Debbie) Kristen Hager, the Waitress at the Small Town Diner does Good ! Available on Amazon Prime

PS Whoever wrote the Storyline on the IMDB site for this did not see the Movie ?