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Just re-watched this for the first time in quite awhile. Hindsight being what it is, I was impressed watching it again more than I was when I saw it in theaters. Being as young and idealistic as I was, I thought it too dark then. Now that doesn't even matter. Liotta's best performance (barring how well he might do in Killing Them Softly) in my opinion, and yes that includes Goodfellas.

It's been a number of years since I saw it, but I remember being very impressed with it. The thing is probably more impressive now than when it came out just for not being the dumb, loud action-fest that has become Carnahan's trademark. It's a more restrained character drama that favours ambiguity over resolution and resists falling back on the cliches of this genre (all the more available given that the film's characters start out as stock types). The authenticity of its location work and its acting, secondary characters especially, is the main reason the movie works as well as it does.

Is that really his trademark though? It certainly appears in The A-Team, but that was appropriate for that movie. I certainly wouldn't call something like The Grey a 'dumb, loud action-fest' for instance. I think he rather well trades off on Suzuki lite explosions of style and more quiet personal projects.

knives wrote:Is that really his trademark though? It certainly appears in The A-Team, but that was appropriate for that movie. I certainly would could something like The Grey a 'dumb, loud action-fest' for instance. I think he rather well trades off on Suzuki lite explosions of style and more quiet personal projects.

I think the title of his first movie, Blood, Guts, Bullets, and Octane, kind of sums up his general approach to cinema, which he follows through on with Smokin' Aces and The A-Team. I haven't seen The Grey, so I'll take your word for it that it's uncharacteristic of his usual output.

You don't have to just take my word on that though as it was an early favorite on this board with a lot of posts on it.

knives wrote:I certainly wouldn't call something like The Grey a 'dumb, loud action-fest' for instance.

That was a big part in wanting to re-visit Narc (along with the happenstance of it showing on The Movie Channel from time to time). It felt as close to what he accomplished with that film, along with some of his capabilities as an action director.

knives wrote:You don't have to just take my word on that though as it was an early favorite on this board with a lot of posts on it.

I didn't mean to imply that I doubted you, I just meant that I cannot comment on it myself so I'll trust your judgement.

Yeah, Joe Carnahan's trajectory is both baffling and somewhat depressing - especially since both Wayne Kramer and Nelevdine-Taylor and have done the overblown no-subtlety/no-taste allowed brand of crime cinema much better. With that said, The Grey was indeed a welcome return to the stripped-down, muscular style that made Narc so refreshing at the time, and I hope he continues to follow it.

The A-Team is an ugly joke, but I'll stand up for Smokin' Aces. It's like the ultimate Tony Scott film that even Tony Scott was somehow too tasteful to make. I actually like it better than The Grey, which is really just a pale shadow of what it might have been with a better script (and a few less goofy looking animatronic wolves), something much closer to better survival thrillers like Flight of the Phoenix.

I like Smokin' Aces too, but won't even bother with A-Team which I'm guessing was done for a paycheck if anything else. Last I heard he was going to direct the remake of Death Wish (with either Neeson or Russell Crowe in the lead), but IMDB has nothing on it and Joe isn't listed as directing it so maybe it's fallen through.

The A-Team was actually a really good movie. It sort of tried to be what The Expendables totally failed at: the ultimate '80s action flick with supped up absurdity. As a comedy it's great.