Phoenix (1998) Reviews

• Superstitious

  jotix1002004-05-29

  This film was a complete surprise. One of those rarities that come out out of nowhere and knock your socks off without much effort. Danny Cannon, it's director must be given credit for bringing this story to the screen, or video, as probably was the case. Any film where Ray Liotta appears, is worth a look. Now, if one adds the great Anthony LaPaglia, one of the best actors around, it has to be outstanding. Mr. LaPaglia has never struck a wrong note in whatever I've seen him do. He shines here playing against type and almost stealing the film from Ray Liotta. The story about bad cops in Phoenix is presented with a total sense of honesty, no pun intended. There are a bunch of these guys in every police department in large cities. The director packs a lot of action into this movie. It will keep the viewer glued to the screen. In addition to Ray Liotta and Anthony LaPaglia, there are brief glances at Anjelica Houston, Brittany Murphy, Jeremy Piven, Giancarlo Esposito and others that make this film a delight for fans of thrillers. Either catch it on cable, or run to the video store and rent it. You won't regret it!

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• Bad Cable Action Cinema At Its Best!

  jayandsjosh2001-06-10

  Did you ever see one of those awful action thrillers or crime dramas (where, as Jon Stewart once pointed out, "all the action takes place in a strip club"), usually starring Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts, Rutger Hauer, Michael Madsen, or some refugee from the Brat Pack, on late night cable? Well, "Phoenix" is the "Chinatown" of those movies. Which, in case you miss my meaning, means it's really quite good. This is a supremely fun film if you like (or hate but have seen) any of these B action flicks. It should be used in film schools when teaching this overlooked genre ("Contemporary exploitation films," they'd probably call them.). This movie has a loan shark, a bookie, crooked cops, bagmen, a strip joint that figures prominently in the plot, a sultry siren in bed with everybody, a cleverly masked heist, a lucky fill-in-the-blank item, a burned out beauty with a sexy jailbait daughter, and a hero with a chance at redemption, if only he can keep from screwing everything up. This movie's got everything, and that's the point. Ray Liotta stars (in, for my money, the best performance of his career) and, although one of the aforementioned crooked cops, has an incorruptible sense of honor. For example, he has accumulated a substantial gambling debt, but won't let anyone else pay it off or make it go away because he refuses to "welsh." It's a piece of advice given to him by his late gambler father, you'll probably not be surprised to learn. The plot is, to pay off the sizable debt, Liotta and three of his fellow crooked cops mastermind a heist in a strip club where everything goes wrong while they wear funny animal masks. "But," as I often tell people, "it's not like it sounds." If you're still not convinced, the fact that Anjelica Huston is a part of this film's great cast should tell you something. Also, watch out for the amazing Tom Noonan as a lisping bookie and a scene with Giovanni Ribisi where you can see the conclusion coming but is still satisfying even if you've already figured it out because of Liotta's intense performance. 3 out of 4 stars on the fun scale. (Probably less on the quality scale.)

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• An Outstanding Film!

  Tiger_Mark2002-07-03

  I was somewhat shocked at just how good this film was. I should not have been, the cast is outstanding! Moreover, when you have Ray Liotta in the lead role, you are going to be pretty good. However, this film goes way beyond pretty good and close to perfection. The Movie tells the story of four Phoenix detectives, each of which is somewhat less than perfect (to say the least). In fact, a couple of them are criminals (Anthony LaPaglia is great). The story centers around that of Ray Liotta's character, a hopeless gambler. However, to Liotta, gambling is somewhat of an honorable tradition (one carried down from his father). He speaks of gambling as if it was his religion. He bets on everything. He starts conversations with people he considers lucky, in attempts to get some kind of a hidden tip on a horse. He sees a cute little girl and asks her her name, she says Betsy. So he looks for a horse named Betsy. However, like he tells one of his partners, "I don't gamble to make money." His partner's response, "no s**t." The more bets Liotta makes, the more he loses. Pretty soon, he is in pretty heavy to a loan shark named Chicago (played brilliantly by Tom Noonan). When his fellow partners suggest arresting or killing the loan shark (that is starting to lean heavy on Liotta), Liotta is shocked, there is no honor in welshing on a bet. From here, we see the downward spiral of all people involved in the story. I mentioned the cast in this film and it is an incredible group. What is greater, is that each is given a real character to play, with unique flaws and traits. Each scene is wonderful to look at, visually. Be it a rainy night, a heist with animal masks, or a brutal Arizona desert. The dialog is sharp and very witty. The images are gritty and slick. Symbolism abounds in every scene. This is really a tremendous film! **** out of ****.

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• At last - a good Danny Cannon film

  bob the moo2001-10-24

  Harry is a police officer - he is also a degenerate gambler in debt to bookie Chicago for $32K. That's basically the plot, it seems simple but it is enough to drive the film's core once it has been surrounded by plot twists, tension, strong performances, interesting characters and good dialogue. Hats off to Danny Cannon - he was the great British hope once after making Young Americans and going to the US he then messed up with Judge Dredd. But here he shows that he does have talent to lead a dark thriller successfully - albeit he is helped greatly by the plot and his actors. The film follows Harry and his 3 colleagues as they revolve around several loan sharks and bookies whilst also trying to have lives and relationships. The main focus is Harry's addiction to gambling in all areas of his life. There is also a subplot involving Angelica Huston which is meant to represent Harry's potential redemption, but this is not well developed and is secondary to the main story. The story eventually turns into a heist-gone-wrong movie but even then has enough twists to keep the interest. The main strength of the film lies in the actors that are assembled together here. Liotta plays the role well, making it possible to like this person but also making his gambling side believable - it's hard not to feel for him and his bad luck as the film progresses. Anthony Lapaglia, Daniel Baldwin, Jeremy Piven are all excellent for different reasons as his colleagues. Piven good as the cop drawn into things he doesn't want to do and Baldwin and Lapaglia are as solid as every in corrupt roles. Both Ribisi and Huston are capable of great performances but neither have a lot to work with here in terms of time or plot involvement. Giancarlo Esposito is as good as ever in a small role as Louie the loanshark - but then I've never seen him put in a bad performance, even in a bad film. Overall the plot is similar to many other crime thrillers out there. What makes this rise above the normal TV material is a dark atmosphere from Danny Cannon, a strong lead in Liotta with uniformly great support from the rest of the cast and tension an twists throughout.

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• A Hidden Gem

  tarbosh220002010-05-12

  "Phoenix" is a hidden gem. I've seen it over five times. For some reason, it never gets old. Harry (Liotta) is a cop with a gambling problem. He can't stop. He owes money to "Chicago" (Tom Noonan) and he if he doesn't pay up, he dies. Harry's partners Henshaw (LaPaglia) and Nutter (Baldwin) are dirty and are becoming "collectors" to bookie Louie (Giancarlo Esposito). Harry needs money fast and the only way is to rob Louie. Everybody goes along with the plan until there's a double cross. There's not a lot of action in the movie until the end, but it's not needed. Ray Liotta is excellent in the movie. But the supporting cast steals it from him. LaPaglia is fantastic as Henshaw. He makes the character come alive. Baldwin, Esposito, Kari Wuhrer, and Anjelica Huston all get their time to shine. "Phoenix" is a gritty crime movie that Liotta and LaPaglia fans must see. For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

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