Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageThe 51st State (2001)
Director: Ronny Yu
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Stel Pavlou was working in a wine merchants until he struck gold with this screenplay, a fanboy action comedy drawing on True Romance and cynical Jerry Bruckheimer gunfests like The Last Boy Scout - but set in Liverpool, and laced with a distinctly British sense of humour. Momentum Pictures put up more than $20m, cast Jackson as the Californian chemist Elmo McElroy and brought in HK's Ronny Yu to direct. Here's the plot: Elmo has concocted a new mega brainblaster of a recreational drug; he does the dirty on his boss Lizard (Meatloaf) to sell it to a Scouse kingpin (Tomlinson). Lizard hires hitwoman Dakota (Mortimer) to dispense with the competition, which she readily manages, sparing only Elmo and local guide Felix (Carlyle) - who happens to be Dakota's ex. And so the scene is set for further flash action choreography, reams of bad taste jokes, and due homage to Liverpool FC. It's slapdash, but generates enough eccentric energy to excuse its baser elements.Author: TCh
User reviews of this film
-
- barrjimbo said...
- Posted on Jul 07 2008 23:02 class
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Ronny Yu
Producer: David Pupkewitz, Malcolm Kohll, András Hamori, Seaton McLean, Jonathan Debin
Cast: Samuel L Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer, Sean Pertwee, Ricky Tomlinson, Stephen Walters, Anna Keaveney, Rhys Ifans, Meatloaf full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Duration: 92 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now