Shade (2003)

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

I think that's a line from the movie. It doesn't matter if this catchphrase is or isn't, because nothing, not even a line up of sunsetting incredible actors could save this movie. Man this movie is bad. I originally was going to give this 10 stars and trash Steven Soderbergh for copying the plot line, locations and the idea of twist after twist after twist. I thought this movie preceded Oceans 11, but when I came to IMDb I found this was released AFTER Ocean's 11. AFTER. I have plenty to say about how much I loathe Soderbergh, but one thing you can never take from him is Ocean's 11. It is one of the few perfect films of our generation. The Ocean's movie (the first, 12 and 13 are horrific) set the bar on grifting movies incredibly high that one shouldn't even consider penning another one until you can match it, top it, or heck, just come close to its genius without copying it. This movie could only copy the good ideas from Oceans 11 and get wrong everything else. Gabriel Byrne is too old to end every sentence with "baby" when speaking to his nominal love interest. Sylvester Stallone is watchable because he's an oaf. I will never believe him to be of any intelligence level that would allow for him to be the best card shark for say, 30 years. And Stuart Townsends smirk is lovable, but he really can't compete with Brad Pitt's. (For the record I think Brad Pitt is fine to look at and one of the most overrated actors in Hollywood. His acting abilities are such that when he plays a character, you can always tell that its Brad Pitt, thinking he's acting how his character should act. Its quite sad.)This movie should been titled, Ocean's 14, the drama in real life. This was a made for TV movie version of what really happened to the crew. They all ended up washed up, selling each other out and the two aging but beautiful stars from Oceans 11 (George Clooney and Julia Roberts) end up with collagen implants and wrinkles, ala Sly and Melanie Griffith.

So you want to be a grifter? This movie will make you think twice. You might even want to avoid Las Vegas altogether for a year or two.I saw "The Sting" as a young man. That is still the standard for this genre as far as I'm concerned. This movie, while not matching up, does a pretty good job at keeping you entertained. It has a very good cast. Hal Holbrook even makes a cameo appearance.All in all, nicely acted and scripted. Too many scenarios are totally unbelievable, however. Why would anyone sit down at a table with these guys? Is there anyone on earth you can trust? Is there an honest cop in town? Will I still have my kidneys tomorrow? Other reviewers have commented on the card tricks. Yes, they're fascinating. But with video editing what it is these days, they don't add much.If you like roller coasters, this movie has enough twists to make your head spin. For those looking for realism and believability, you may be disappointed.

I won't lie, I thought it was a pretty good movie. But I have seen two distinct versions of it! I purchased and watched the DVD version of this movie, and then acquired (for backup purposes), watched, and deleted an .avi version of this movie, only to find that it was quite different. Most of the music was different, the story had a few significant changes as well, and the "chapter" headlines that appear in the DVD version were not on the other version. I would say that the non-DVD version or this film was superior. Does anyone know of a second cut that legitimately exists, and if not, what happened to it? I would like to get my hands on the non-DVD version, and the movie would have gotten an 8 from me if that was the only version out there.

Shade draws its audience into a world of sharp suits, jazzy tunes and card tricks, which, despite its obvious cool, doesn't really make the grade.That isn't to say that Shade isn't entertaining. It looks good, it sounds good, and the performances are effective enough (Foxx is particularly...noticeable), but the film just isn't as well done as other con movies such as The Grifters (1990), and is way below the sophistication of bigger heist movies such as Ocean's Eleven (2001).My biggest problem with Shade was the the final plot twist. It seemed a bit unnecessary. The biggest problem in terms of plot is that it's based on an a grudge from an event that happened before the film starts, that we only learn about through infrequent references. Sure, there's tension between Charlier (Grabriel Byrne) and Vernon (Stuart Townsend), but it's not enough, and it's something that could have been made clearer with a flashback or even a short conversation. After all, they did it enough for Stevens (Stallone), and he's a supporting character at the most.That being said, Shade is still a decent enough con movie to be worth watching, and while it has a few problems, that doesn't stop it being enjoyable.And it *did* make me want to play poker.