Review of Focus (2015) by Isaac B — 23 Mar 2015

One too many twists. That's how I want to start this one off because that was my first thought exiting the theater. I thought I was going to walk away perfectly satisfied up until the last five minutes, then they had to throw another curveball for what seems to be mostly comedic effect. I dislike plot pieces like that even though I love humor in movies. If it is not crucial to the plot or the characters, leave it out. With that out of the way, let me speak of the features I did quite enjoy. This movie is entertaining plain and simple. It started off on a very fast, yet perfect pace for this style of film. I liked it so much that when it slowed down for certain scenes it took me out of the movie for a few minutes. I found myself loving the dialogue in this movie which seemed really casual and real. Multiple times in this film Margot Robbie's character was found laughing at something someone said which I like to see in films. A lot of the time directors force the actors supplying and receiving the jokes not to laugh because the joke is meant for the audience. For me, it feels ten times more real when the actor lets out a burst of laughter as if they were actually hearing that joke for the first time. That brings me to the performances which I did enjoy much more than expected. Will Smith's classic charisma and swagger is back in this film and I almost forgot how he great he is when he shows up. It was also with the help of his co-star and boy do I love Margot Robbie. Not only can she act, but she is eye candy and I never wanted to miss a second of her screen time.

This movie also had different, however enjoyable structure. it almost felt like two halves as opposed to three acts. These two halves also were so independent of each other that they almost felt like Focus and a Focus sequel attached together. What I will say is that Focus part I is significantly better than Focus part II. Part II did not lose me as much as it did some other critics though as that was some of their largest complaints. To me, it still seemed in tact and carried some of the pros over from part I.

There were several moments that had me on edge since I didn't know what was a con and what was real danger. This certainly feels like the type of movie that is best the first time around but I won't know for sure until I sit through it again on cable. This movie is probably better than you are expecting which is always a nice treat these days.