Review of Stand Up Guys (2012) by Hoops2448 — 10 Sep 2013

It's not hard to imagine a film with Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin being bad due to their recent string of bad decisions but surprisingly it isn't, its a fresh look at old age and the effects it has on all of us.

The film follows what happens when Val (Pacino) is released from prison. He is met at the gates by Doc (Walken), his best friend, a man who has orders to kill Val by 10AM the next day. As the minutes count down these two remember their past and enjoy their final day together.

Director Fisher Stevens although having directed 2002's Just a Kiss is still finding his directing legs and Stand up Guys does suffer from some weak direction, especially during the film's quieter moments.

The films many action scenes are well done and even prove to be exhilarating. Pacino ground the film as Val, a genuinely nice guy who happens to have gotten himself into a lose lose situation, one Doc seems more than willing to extricate himself from.

Unlike most of his recent efforts Pacino is fantastic here, elevating a good script into a great one. Walken, coming off a heartbreaking turn in Seven Psychopaths brings out the best in Doc, something Doc refuses to notice even if Val has no problem pointing it out for viewers and Doc.

They are joined by their old getaway driver Hirsch (Alan Arkin for a spell, the films best collection of sequences follow as these friends proceed to do things some might say they are to old to. The joy of the film is how these old pros fall back into old habits as soon as Val arrives.

This shouldn't be seen as a bad thing because even if they do bad things, they are still ultimately Stand Up Guys.