Oliver Stone directs Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez and Nick Nolte in this neo-noir where a drifter is asked to kill a rich man’s sexy young wife.

You’ve seen this movie before. John Dahl made it about five times (all better) in the Nineties. Just never with a cast of so many A-Listers and award whores. Does it make for a better movie? No, the unfettered overkill often sinks it. Stone fucks the frame with such constant ferocity that Michael Bay, Spike Lee and Tony Scott would all agree he is being a bit excessive. Most of the little quirky subplots go nowhere. Once we get down to the formulaic third act there are no surprises and then it drags it’s feet. Nasty, fascinating, not the stamp of anyone involved’s talents.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Natural Born Killers (1994)