Nonureva
Really Surprised!
Afouotos
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Peereddi
I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.
Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Comeuppance Reviews
"Played" was a decent crime thriller despite it's budget shortcomings.The plot: Ray (Rossi) is a small-time thief who is framed for a crime he didn't commit. When he gets out of jail, he falls back into the same life.The budget for this movie was $338,000, so I understand why it was shot on video instead of film. I was worried about that because the usual Lionsgate (shot on video) output is usually terrible ("Green River killer", "Heebie Jeebies"). It actually looks good in most scenes.Mick Rossi does a fine job as Ray. But the big name stars are only in this for maybe five minutes each. Kilmer does his usual professional work. His dialogue was improvised and it shows. ("You're not gonna Taco, Ray.") Jones plays a good bad guy. Byrne appears stiff and looks like he wants to be anywhere else. I also noticed that almost all the actors are on the phone. It's pretty cheap just to shoot actors talking on a phone.Overall, "Played" was a satisfactory crime flick, that's a good second or third choice at the video store.For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com
JD Smith
Loved it. Granted you have to pay attention, but a film for those connoisseurs who love the genre and like to think a little. Only discovered it recently, do not know why it had no theatrical release. Great acting(Especially considering it was apparently improved-) ,great pace, and believable story that drew me in. Impressed how the acting across the board was at such a high level. Val Kilmers scenes in the car were brilliant, as were the scenes with Anthony LaPaglia and Bruno Kirby interrogating suspects. Also really enjoyed Patrick Bergin's quirky psychotic character. As well as Joanne Whalley and Brit mob boss Roy Doltrice. Don't know why Colin Farrell wasn't credited? But most important this film is tops for capturing gangster culture- most realistic I've seen in years. Years. It will be considered a classic in 20 yrs. I thoroughly enjoyed it. For those who didn't, surely SpongeBob is avail on DVD!
Jay Harris
As others have said, do not be mislead by the name cast. nearly all the major name actors have very little screen time.It is the first major role for Mick Rossi (he also did the screenplay)This film had a small budget & it shows.The production values are nil.The acting is only so-so.The script is chock full of the F word & variations of same plus other choice vulgarisms.I cant say I hated this film, Its just not good just mediocre.Ratings ** (out of 4) 52 points (out of 100) IMDb 4 (out of 10_
plastik-fantastik
Beware,this is a real pretender.You see Vinnie Jones and Gabriel Byrne on the poster and you see Val Kilmer is in it too,so it looks all good but then the film starts,shows the actors in alphabetic order and at the end it says:Introducing Mick Rossi.So that's what you get to see,about 88 minutes with Mick Rossi and about 1 minute Gabriel Byrnes and about 2 minutes Val Kilmer,only one who's featured a bit more is Vinnie Jones.So if you want to see a true Mick Rossi film (probably the only one he ever will have a leading part in),check it out,otherwise beware.The story is average too.Mick plays a small time gangster who got a job from the big boys which gets him into lots of trouble.
