Review of Give 'em Hell, Malone (2009) by Bobby L — 03 Feb 2010

A rather excellent noir. And boy oh boy, is this ever noir! It's so fully entrenched in that classic style of it, with double crosses, femme fatales (multiples), hard boiled voice over, and all that usual stuff. It wouldn't matter if it wasn't done well, but it is done extremely well, with Thomas Jane being rather excellent here, and that's saying something. He suits this world nicely, and is surrounding by a game supporting cast, including Ving Rhames and French Stewart; I know, odd, right?

Russell Mulcahy, who's last film was Scorpion King 2, but is most notable for Highlander, does an excellent job here, keeping everything running smooth. I also applaud and really enjoyed his choice of dressing up Malone and a few of the other main characters in typical 40s costumes and gave them proper items from then as well, but kept in the present day. The style clash makes for an interesting effect I thought worked well.

The heavily stylized violence, at points, almost becoming 300-esque, but not as dumb, looks really good, and the gore effects are solid and not over-the-top.

The ending is rather perfect, with a few nice twists, that while fun, weren't impossible to see coming. Hard boiled, shoot 'em first, fun.