Review of Setup (2012) by Zachary L — 18 Dec 2011

There are some truths that must be acknowledged about "Setup:" It's low- budget, it stars Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and it's not out to try and be more than it is, which is a simple guy's guy movie. The latter of those truths is actually pretty refreshing in this landscape of CGI and movies about giant toy robots.

Setup has a simple enough conceit: Sonny (50 Cent) is betrayed by his friend and partner in crime, Vincent (Ryan Phillippe), after they pull a diamond heist with a third, doomed friend. Sonny doesn't die according to plan and now he's out for revenge. Only mob boss Biggs (Bruce Willis) doesn't like a guy running around his city pulling guns on people he works with, so he comes into the picture as well.

What can be said here? Look, the film is shot on a $12 million budget and one can tell. But, they make do with what they got a la "Reservoir Dogs." The heist is low key, but gives us some cool images. The film is photographed exceptionally well and the script is a clear ode to the genre of gritty action movies that shun pretty boys and big special effects.

50 Cent may not be Daniel Day Lewis, but he certainly shows improvement as an actor every time he's in a movie and he seems to have fun with his role as Sonny. Phillippe is fantastic and brings a sense of dedication that one wouldn't expect for such a low key film. Willis is, in a word, fantastic. He's beyond professional. He moves in and out of comedy and drama in the film and gives the film its more interesting scenes. Randy Couture even pops up to give one some of the humorous scenes and proves he's a great character actor.

So, why wouldn't people like this movie? Simple. First of all, there's immediate bias because it's going straight to dvd and it stars and is produced by 50 Cent. Second is the fact that first time director Mike Gunther doesn't assualt you with style over story like the Tarantinos and Ritchies of the world. But, that makes him better. He photographs his movie beautifully and gives it a feel that earlier 70s gritty action films had. He also doesn't make the script a parody of itself and leaves the irony at home while he adds has an overall motif about religion that adds to the script and makes for some great scenes (especially one between Willis and Jackson).

Look, the film is not perfect. But, if you are willing to leave the ironic biases behind then you'll find a hidden gem of a movie. A nice passion project that gives us something true film buffs can enjoy. It gives us some old school cinema. The script hits home and the film looks great. Setup is a cool 85 minutes of a film and it's definately not something you see a lot of today on the big screen.