Pros and Ex Cons

Pinnacle Films

R4 DVD

Tim Boyle’s film is a rather confusing and derivative mix of plot threads in the line of Snatch or Pulp Fiction. It has its rough spots but is peppered with strokes of comedy that take the seriousness from the film. A lazy gunman who hires another assassin to do his jobs because he can’t shoot straight?

A pair of no hopers who reinvent the prehistoric Superman 3 scam of taking a fraction of a percent from each bank transaction?

A pair of heavies who manage to shoot the wrong victim?

It starts with the Rich Guy who finds his wife is having a affair. He arranges his killers to have her taken care of. Naturally they get it wrong. One of the no hopers has lost over a hundred thousand of the money he doesn’t actually have yet from the scam. He is about to lose a significant body part if he can’t make the repayment. The two (well, one) assassins always seem to be the last on the scene, finding only bodies. The body count mounts until we get the compulsory gunfight in a bank.

The film is not a great piece of cinema, but it’s very entertaining and action filled. Even in the quiet moments you can play spot the Australian star. The clichés come thick and fast.

Tim Boyle complained that the film was taken from him in the post production / editing phase. It was slapped together in a hurry and this may account for some of the rough bits and the decidedly poor quality sound track. They have turned what could have been at least a decent film into a rather sloppy job that loses a lot of its impact and doesn’t seem to know what sort of a film it wants to be when it grows up. I guess we should hope for a Director’s Cut one day, but until then it’s still good, bloody fun.

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