Tower Heist

Brett Ratner is a predictable, predictable man. That's what I told myself last Wednesday morning before heading up into town to my local cinema to catch his latest offering of brainless Hollywood hi-jinks. Gay slurs aside, Ratner's films usually come with a set of expectations for most --

Fast-paced? I suppose so.
Incoherent plot? You betcha'
One or two fleshed out characters, anyone else is a glorified prop? You said it.
Mind-numbing stupidity? What did you expect? Chinatown?

And I'm pleased to report my expectations were met, with interest!

Now let me tell you all about how that isn't a bad thing, without ever resorting to classic 'it's only a bit of fun' judgement. It don't work for Michael Bay, it won't work for Ratner. A budget of $80million for a 'bit of fun'? Dream on, sunshine.

The movie begins with some really quite fabulous shots of the Manhattan skyline, and as we jump down on to a private and luxurious swimming pool situated at the very top of The Tower, a cute dollar bill (don't quote me on that, I'm British and don't know American dosh -- the difference between a nickel and dime baffles me) imprinted on the stagnated pool floor, we should realise then how very one-dimensional this affair will be.

Characters are required to be motivated -- they need to want something, and in order to get this 'something', they need to be pushed. The film makes use of its early rounds by introducing us to the odd assortment of goofballs we will be lending our hopes and sympathies to throughout the movie. Most of them work at The Tower, and find themselves fired early on for aggravating the owner, Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) (who has just been arrested for fraud) -- now Josh (Ben Stiller), Charlie (Casey Affleck) and Devreaux (Michael Pena) find themselves sitting at home, nursing a grudge against the man who apparently lost them their jobs. But wait? Josh THINKS there might be a safe in Shaw's penthouse suite. They can steal it all back, true Robin Hood style -- all they need now is the black criminal (Eddie Murphy) and....Matthew Broderick.

So back to motivation. Paper thin depictions of 5 men desperate for a bit of cash, for themselves, for their co-workers, I don't know -- we don't need to know, it's not required that every single character is plucked apart for their entire life, interior and exterior, to be explored to a tee. I think it's safe to say that the movie generalizes the capital factor -- if there's enough dosh to be gained, that's enough for me, you and Ratner.

Hollywood at its finest.

The heist itself is Ocean's 11 for the Twilight generation (no offence intended....sort of) -- we're going to walk in, block out the security cameras, pray to God for an insane amount of luck and cut away at the seemingly impossible bits to divert the audience's attention to another character who contributes very little, but gets in there with a few snappy one-liners for giggles.

The positives are all in the performance. Eddie Murphy is a likable, talented actor, as is his opposite number, Stiller. Two unique brands of comedy working head-to-head and it comes out, guns blazing, to great effect. You will laugh, sporadically maybe, but there are genuine laugh out loud moments. You probably won't understand why 20,000 thousand New York(ians/ers?) can't seem to spot a Ferrari 250 paved with gold hanging out of the top floor window with 3 figures defying gravity swinging about left, right and centre, but it worked for Rush Hour, didn't it?

Ratner is a good director, and he knows how to make shots work. You'll like the film, I have no doubt, and I don't think anyone associated with the film expects it to break any boundaries nor do they wish it to, and I say kudos -- nothing wrong with that. It's just a bit of f...

Bazinga.