When full time failure Tim Kearney (Paul Walker) is given a choice by DEA agent Tad Gruzsa (Laurence Fishburne) - either jail as a marked man for the rest of his days or impersonate recently deceased drug smuggler ‘Bobby Z’ in a deadly hostage operation - he wisely plumps for the latter.
Or perhaps not, as the set up immediately crumbles into a shoot out catastrophe leaving Kearney enjoying the high life one minute, then the next on the run with the real Bobby’s six year old son and a troupe of irate gangsters close behind.
They say:
dvdverdict.com: "Kearney matches up with a steady stream of scumbags and the fights are staged well."
filmcritic.com: "Bobby Z will appeal to action cinema's less demanding fans."
Apollo Movie Guide: "It's got a slick look and a few enjoyable action scenes."
We say:
Even with a storyline that’s less than fresh, Bobby Z is a cheerily likeable affair. Any film that kicks off with legendary character actor Bruce Dern ranting on - he could even make a party political broadcast sound interesting - is worth a look.
When we first meet Paul Walker’s Kearney, he is already doing a stint in prison and sporting hair like an Afghan hound. The credits have barely rolled before he has sliced a guy’s throat with a number plate, so you know right where you stand from the off. This is Under Siege Steven Seagal/ Casey Ryback territory. Hell, Kearney even has a Navy Cross to his name. Don’t they all?
A veteran of such guilty pleasures as The Fast and the Furious and Into The Blue, Walker is obviously good looking and ready to romance the ladies, though not so much concerned with acting. His range veers from a smirk to a frown and possibly a pensive stare if he is really upset about something. It’s a good job the ever reliable Laurence Fishburne is on hand to liven things up. Chewing on pithy dialogue like candy, Fishburne clearly relishes his role as the baddie. He can even pull off wearing a cowboy hat and bootlace tie combo and that takes some doing.
The violence in Bobby Z comes thick and gratifyingly fast. There is nothing here to scare the censors, but Walker seems to thump anything that moves. Look out for the loudmouth in the Jacuzzi getting his comeuppance. You may not see the foot coming – he certainly didn’t.
Your pulse won’t rise above 70, but some swiftly handled martial art tussles do pep up the pace. Note the poor cowboy blowing himself up in a cabin too, it’s certainly worth a chuckle. Plus with a script devoid of greedy monologues, no scene hangs around too long before yet another skirmish turns up.
Stupid and shameless, Bobby Z is an enjoyable romp that ticks along nicely.
Extras:
An eleven minute ‘making of featurette’ that may have benefited from some beefing up, though there are a few worthwhile quotes from director John Herzfeld and the location crews. Like the production guy who had to go around and tell the neighbours ‘it wasn’t Iraq’ just because they were firing some automatic weapons in the Mexican desert. Fascinating stuff.
CAST
Paul Walker
Laurence Fishburne
Jason Lewis
Jarrod Bunch
DIRECTOR
John Herzfeld
TIME
97 mins
POSTED...
Fri 21 Sep 2007 at 4:33pm
