Focus – 2015 Quicky Review – Will Smith’s triumphant return?

Its been quite a few years since we got a Will Smith movie that is actually somewhat good. With the abomination that was After Earth, any normal human worried about Will’s health and mental stability. Upon news of Focus, the world relaxed when they were told that Jaden was left in a deep, dark hole as far away as possible from this film.

Focus is the brainchild of writers John Requa & Glenn Ficarra who masterminded one of my childhood family favourites “Cats & Dogs“. Its comical take on the relationship between animals in a house dominated by a zoo of creatures such as ours was a great addition to the experience. Although its ratings suggest otherwise, the movie holds a special place in my heart. Focus is a very different narrative with a little less dogs and a lot more crime. Con man Nicky is the head of a select group of thieves and other con men/women. His group travel vast distances to collect fortunes through identity theft, blackmailing, general theft and a host of other crimes with massive payouts. The level of crime is so vast, it feels more of a glorification of crime rather than the real reason the story pushes onward. Margot Robbie’s character, Jess is a newbie. A smallbit hustler whose experience is almost non-existent. Being caught out by Nicky, she follows him to his next destination and pesters him enough to lands a test run within his group. From the very beginning we are well aware that these two will end up together but is fraught with trouble and curveballs. Nicky pushes her away and disappears only to run into her while he is planning a huge con with her new partner.

The film describes itself as a comedy, crime drama. Comedy and drama always seem a weird mix for myself and personally, the film isn’t a comedy. Albeit funny, its not stupid or silly enough to warrant such a label. As for drama, I can see the working. Focus is a complete unknown with its story. Its cleverly disguised and blends in seamlessly only for you to suddenly find a curveball approaching your face at an alarming rate. It likes to make itself inconspicuous, make you a viewer rather than a character. Scenes happen, one such incident with a bag of money worth more than my house, its contents, my car and my left kidney left me astounded by how quickly it through it into your face as if you’re the one who has been conned. The little scenes, the quips and remarks that seem nonsensical play together to create a thoroughly well developed story and screenplay. There really isn’t much to say about the music, its good, there is plenty of variation and its rather exciting. The sound isn’t awful, in fact its quite nice and you won’t be having your ear drums peeled by excessive volume issues. As for cinematography, the world is far more beautiful than I could have imagined, colours pop and the lighting is natural, even within a club, you don’t struggle to see what is truly going on.

Nicky seems like a really clever man, also extremely obnoxious, Will Smith manages to nail Nicky’s multiple personalities and we already know of Margot’s incredible talent with her performance is another one of my favourite movies “Wolf of Wall Street”. Many of the other characters seem distant and feel more like extras rather and the ones that have more screen time really are good, Adrian Martinez stands as the best of the rest and is an enjoyable character with language worse than a sailor. Apart from these, I have few faults with the movie and they are only minor issues. All in all, you are looking at a movie well worth the watch. Its narrative is different and the plot twists keep knocking you right off your feet. It easily deserves an 8/10 for its creativity and incredible plot narratives that aren’t convoluted like many become. Go see this film, its got a bit for everyone…Except the brain dead.

 

PS – I want every single suit he wears.