Review of Focus (2015) by Jon H — 14 Jul 2015

Focus is a multi genre movie. It has crime, comedy, drama and some romance in it. Overly simple in it's concept, the movie is heavy on the plot twists which is a risky idea for making a good movie.

The movie is very entertaining, thanks to the high level of acting and the very identifiable characters Will Smith and Margot Robbie portray. Smith elevates himself to the level of acting expected of him, while the far less famous Robbie makes a positive mark as well.

The movie tries to target a wide audience, yet it hits the spot for a fairly mature crowd in my opinion.

The dark turns the plot takes sometimes would fit many but not all comedy fans. It moves back and forth from comedy to drama, rendering it too complex for either a typical criminal comedy or a romantic one.

With that in mind, there is no denying the story is good. The writers succeed in creating not a typical Hollywood movie, but a smart one, that is interesting to watch to the last minute.

So many plot twists may be a bit excessive to some viewers, but here the plot is constructed in a way that makes them crucial for the movie's success.

As far as acting goes, the stars are very important in getting a good movie, but it would not work without the very good support cast. Each and every actor in this movie works hard towards connecting all the dots of the plot with Adrian Martinez and Gerald McRaney contributing a whole lot towards keeping you interested in what happens on screen. Charming or appalling, they are definitely fascinating to the very end.

Indeed it is a movie I will watch at least twice.

This is not the movie of the year, but it deserves a B+ which is not too bad either.