Review of Domino (2005) by Jims. — 03 Nov 2005

I only know Tony Scott's work from his last few films, which I both enjoyed. Even though the trailer was pretty incoherent and smug, I was still looking foward to seeing it. But then the reviews came it, and everyone seemed to hate it, critics and movie goers alike.

So I went into it expecting a 2 hour version of the trailer. But the final film was a lot more coherent than I expected. I didn't just not hate it, but really enjoyed it. It makes me question whether or it's me or the general public that needs to smarten up.

Despite what everyone says, I found the plot really easy to follow, and the ridiculous elements that I'd heard about, like the incorporation of reality TV and Jerry Springer, actually existed nicely within the film, and provided an interesting commentary on consumer culture.

Even if it wasn't meant to, it worked well and didn't feel tacked on. Overall the film was more somber than I expected, again, not the tounge in cheek stuff I'd seen the trailer, and all the cheesy lines like 'heads you live, tails you die" again came off much more tasteful in the final cut.

It's strange, because this film seems ot be everything Kill Bill wanted to be. It's truly gritty, and truly funny when it wants to be, and mixes art and trash with grace. Yet everyone loved Kill Bill, and hated this film.