Knockaround Guys (2002)

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Yes, it has low budget. Yes it has mostly no starry names. But (Knockaround Guys) pulled off being a solid and catchy crime movie. I loved how it won many positive points..The script managed to discuss the corruption in the human, whereas some are born with, and live by, it (the boss). Others have it, yet wait till having the chance to declare it (the sheriff). And few have it, yet choose not to go with it (the lead at last). So, it's in every one of us, however it depends on the desire to exploit it, or what's known as the moral choice.For more than that, it explored (Barry Pepper)'s character, the relationship between him and (Vin Diesel)'s character, and embodied their characters as organized mind and big muscle, respectively, in front of the other 2 friends whom embodied, both, whimsical, if not coward, heart.The pace is tight, and the scenes are deeply thrilling, without using any flashy style or expensive backgrounds. Some moments reached perfection; like the speech of (Diesel)'s character before hitting some bully; I nominate it as the movie's best effort.The performance hit the mark, with always low tone. For instance, look at (Tom Noonan) as the evil sheriff. He was nasty and menacing while not needing any kind of cheap tricks or theatrical acting. (John Malkovich) did right, but also did it for the money. I know the guy from some interviews, and know that he hates doing any role that doesn't have something different (such as this one !). All the cast, including (Seth Green) and else, was good. However, (Vin Diesel) was there. He simply stole the lights, not due to his truthful performance only, but mainly due to being the most charismatic among the cast. True (Barry Pepper) was so fine, giving a top performance as little (Matty), but being charismatic was the only test he lost in front of (Diesel). However, what I consider the movie's real problem was in the script. At the end, the lead, (Matty), already passed the way from the child who can't shoot a friend for betraying his father, to the man who shot his own uncle for betraying his father. Though, he eventually chose not to be a part of the gang of that father, or any gang for that matter. This is the movie's moral about having "corruption", and choosing another way than it, a more legit one. The thing to complain about though is that the script presents (Matty) as someone who refuses the way of crime since the very start, which weakened the conflict and made his final choice kind of obvious. Sure surrendering to the life of the Knockaround Guys, then developing a conscience that pushes to get out of it, would have made stronger conflict and more unpredictable ending. It's sad that (Knockaround Guys) was kept on the shelf for 3 years after finishing it, maybe for not having big budget, big names, or big nudity ! But I loved it. It has some reasons to be memorable. The last one of them is representing the appropriate transformation which (Michael Corleone) didn't have in (The Godfather), since I've always believed that his transformation to crime wasn't that convincing. Here, the lead of (Knockaround Guys) has a more convincing journey which logically pushed him to pull the trigger at its end, despite that he, unlike (Corleone), didn't choose walking the way of crime to the end.

This films proves the consistency of Murphy's Law. If anything can go wrong, it will, at the worst possible time. Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Seth Green and Andy Davoli are all the privileged sons of mob bosses and it shows. They are caught in between their fathers' world and the straight word, and neither world has a place for them it seems. Dennis Hopper and John Malkovich play the boss and underboss to the hilt, two old school "Gumbas" who have a heavy rep and a lot of street cred. When Matty and his "crew" are finally given a chance to prove themselves, Marbles, who swears he is off the nose candy, screws up and forces them to come to his location to bail him out. Seth Green is Marbles, and out of the entire cast, he is the most believable character. I mean, face it, Seth Green has made a living out of being the perpetual screw up, and will likely continue in that role forever. Barry Pepper makes an effort to come off as the crew leader, but he is relying on everyone else to make decisions and call the shots for him. Vinnie comes off as a typical enforcer, a street thug who does have one of the best scenes in the film when he beats the hell out of Brucker, the small town hood who "runs" Wibaux. Andy Davoli has the smoothness of Hugh Hefner when it comes to the ladies, but lacks the mobster mentality. You have to ask yourself what he is doing in the crew. Tom Noonan gives an adequate but two dimensional performance as the Sheriff, and the entire movie comes off like a bad cartoon. Rated R for violence, drug use, and language, this one can stay on the shelf for a long time before anyone rents it, and then its gonna be someone who really likes one of the great actors in the film. Not collectible, and I am sure some of these actors are trying to buy up the copies.

It's easy to understand the attraction the mafia does on modern filmmakers' imagination.The representation of that kind of life represents how society hates that.Since the movies were young that kind of life has been portrayed at both sights,like villains or the anti-heroes.But a lot of movies about that make a glamorization of that sad sight of the human existence.So,it's very weird to see the cruelty and consequences of that activity with honesty and on a realistic mode.Knockround guys has a glamorization about that kind of life but it shows honesty,realism and a face very little seen about that kind of life.When Hollywood's big studios try to tell a story like the one which has Knockround guys,it's common to see how the story finishes on a second sight to take importance the famous actors or director that are the opposite the story requires.We have seen that on films like Casino,which are multimillionaire inversions,but they feel very shallow because of Hollywood's intervention.The best movies of that genre are the independent ones.So,Knockround guys is next to other great films of that genre like The yards,The usual suspects or Reservoir dogs,which their low budgets are better used to tell that kind of stories than the multimillionaire inversions the big studios do.Knockround guys is a great movie,totally fun.Barry Pepper is great on his role and he gives humanity to his character.Seth Green is an awesome actor and he does a superb performance here.Vin Diesel makes a great and very controlled performance and I think this is his best performance.Dennis Hopper and John Malkovich are unforgettable.Hopper has an excellent performance and he brings the movie's best dialogs.Malkovich makes his character very realistic.Knockround guys is a great and very fun film.I had a great time watching it.

From the perspective of a 23 year old, this movie is pretty good. Very exciting. I have seen GoodFellas and I think this one is better even though it's quite the copy.This movie is about these untouchable mafia guys that are trying to get something back which every time they get close to it it gets worse and you think they will never get it.I need a minimum of 10 lines for my comment, thats odd. Line 10 here it is. Hm, blank lines don't count. Line 10 again. Wow, this is really frustrating, wen't through all the trouble of creating an account and now this crap.