Focus (2015)

 

Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Cast: Will Smith, Margot Robbie

Screenplay: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

104 mins. Rated R for language, some sexual content and brief violence.

 

I’m kind of done with Will Smith (Men in Black, Winter’s Tale). In recent years, he hasn’t given me much to cling to in terms of exciting projects. Granted, I’m very excited for his upcoming role in Suicide Squad, but to be honest, there haven’t been many great new projects for the actor, though he still ranks much higher than his son. As far as Focus went, I saw some initial possibilities for greatness, especially pairing Smith with Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street, Z for Zachariah), who will also be joining Smith in Suicide Squad. Well, that excitement lulled rather quickly after the film started.

Focus is the story of Nicky (Smith), an incredibly fast-footed con man, and his mentorship and relationship with Jess (Robbie), a fledging con artist in the making. As he teaches Jess, he becomes more and more involved with her until the lines between the con and the attraction blur too much for comfort and Nicky must decide what he wants more.

Focus comes from writer/directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (I Love You, Phillip Morris), but the film is nothing like what I expected. First of all, if this plot was cheese, it would be Swiss with all the holes I found. The story breaks its own rules almost from the moment the story begins. Nicky breaks his own code so easily that it made me wonder what caused him to create it in the first place.

But none of the plot holes would have even matter if the film wasn’t so damn boring. Seriously, I couldn’t keep my eyes open for this terribly disappointing slow moving dredge of a story. I couldn’t have cared less for the characters who made decisions willy-nilly because they weren’t even interesting characters.

And then there’s the ending. No spoilers here, but seriously, that ending is one of the dumbest I have ever witnessed. I kept thinking it was going somewhere and then it didn’t. It was so sad an attempt to cash in on shock value that it pulled me right out of the film.

Focus lost me very early on. I couldn’t decide what was worse: the plot or the pace at which it sauntered along. Keep your money for better choices. Focus is nothing but a con trying to take your cash.

 

1.5/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

 

 

So what did you think of Focus? Did you get the mark or were you conned? Let me know!