Saturday Movies: Stand Up Guys (2012)

Stand Up Guys stars almost the elite group of older actors there is now that aren't the usual action stars. I think the trio makes a great cast though because they work off each other's strong points they've built their career's on. Alan Arkin is still the same straight forward tough talking guy, Christopher Walken is the silent gentle guy, and Al Pacino is the troublemaker of the bunch. If you're a fan of these guys and want to see them enjoying their strong suits then this is the movie for you.

Summary: With Val just released from prison, Doc picks him up to give him some stability as he transitions. Val wants to go on an adventure with the old crew though, and gets up the old crew so they can have a last hurrah. This means Val hitting up prostitutes, and hoping to help his friend, Hirsch live a dream after he has recently been widowed. Doc has one last assignment though, and it is to kill one of his friends. Whether he can bargain his way into sparing his friend's life is iffy.


Acting: The actors seem to have fun with their roles, and they really do seem like an old friends. It just seems like a senior citizen version of a buddy comedy. The characters also seem to not veer out of their stereotypical dimensions they've established for themselves either though. They are basically just having fun as themselves. Al Pacino is probably the biggest draw of the three as Val. He seems to be a bit rude, and absurd, but he also cares about his friends. Pacino does have the best comedic timing of the three for me. Christopher Walken seems to be at a point where he just likes being the quiet and gentle guy who doesn't really veer into doing anything wrong, and when given a job that definitely causes him some inner turmoil he responds with hesitance. He does round out the three well though. Alan Arkin probably has the character with the biggest development though as far as a character. The feelings he is struggling with as a widow and living in a retirement home bring him the most complexities and complications of the three.

Filming: Most of this movie is set at night, and appropriately so. Somehow it does make the movie pop more. You have a lot of the city lights to work with, and then this darkness that does fit the dark happenings that are occurring as well. I can't tell you that I'm familiar with any of Fischer Stevens past work directing, but this movie seems to be a better step in the right direction even though it didn't boost his career, but it seems stronger than past work.

Plot: If there is anything the movie has going for it besides acting, it is the complexities of the plot. I think it makes the movie intriguing just by the fact that Doc is sent to kill Val, and you're wondering how he will muster the nerve to do it. I also found side characters like Alan Arkin to contribute more to the thoughts on old age, and how arriving there will make us consider really doing things we would have never considered before, but that doesn't necessarily we should do them.

Stand Up Guys is a good movie, but it is missing something from the characters to really carry it to the next level. It has these very classic actors in the  movie, but they seem to be a little burned out themselves, and more in it for the good time. It has some fun moments and some serious moments though, and provides a few pondering here and there that make it work.

Rating 7 of 10