Review of The Big Bang (2011) by Eric R — 22 Feb 2012

A private investigator, Ned Cruz (Antonio Banderas), is hired by a paroled Russian boxer to find his missing girlfriend-stripper and the 30-million dollar stash of diamonds which she was hiding. The Big Bang is a ultra-stylized neo noir that definitely opts for style over substance.

The film is absolutely loaded with familiar actors and features a ridiculously convoluted script but it sure is pretty to look at. We follow Ned Cruz as he meets a boat load of characters and with each one, the story gets more and more complicated.

The film uses every type of color tint and atmosphere inducing strategy to create something pretty but ultimately unnecessary. There are some interesting parallels between the physics of our universe and our protagonist's case, but it's not nearly as smart or relevant as presented.

Besides the over abundance of characters, the script is quite witty and does have some pretty memorable lines and scenes but the parts are far greater than the sum. I actually really respect this type of film in that it's at least ambitious and interesting but I also resent it cause it could have been so much better.

What's funny is the over-arching plot of the film really isn't all that complicated it's just the way it's presented that makes it convoluted.