Suicide Kings (1997)

Suicide Kings: Directed by Peter O’Fallon. With Mark Watson, Christopher Walken, Denis Leary, Nina Siemaszko. A group of youngsters kidnap a respected Mafia figure.

“u0026quot;Suicide Kingsu0026quot; is an often enjoyable and compelling film, despite a few plot holes due to some twists at the end that the writers desperately threw in to surprise the audience, but didnu0026#39;t take the time to reflect on whether they made perfect sense or not. Nevertheless, itu0026#39;s a fun ride all the way through. The characters are all interesting, in their own way. People have referred to the Ira character as annoying and obnoxious, but heu0026#39;s also the character I most relate to. Youu0026#39;ll never catch me throwing a party in my house when my parents are gone, because Iu0026#39;m incredibly paranoid about people wrecking the place and I can imagine how paranoid Iu0026#39;d be in Irau0026#39;s situation with his friends keeping a gangster with his finger cut off captive in my parentsu0026#39; living room. The actors all do splendid jobs, and have a natural chemistry. As for Christopher Walken, when does he not please? Heu0026#39;s one of the most intense, engaging, brilliant actors of all time and thatu0026#39;s that! Once Walkenu0026#39;s on screen, the dynamic completely changes for the better, whether it be a movie of this quality or one of the u0026quot;Prophecyu0026quot; sequels. Denis Leary is hilarious as Walkenu0026#39;s right hand man whose running gag is the fact that he wears boots made from stingrays. People keep referring to them as u0026quot;fish boots.u0026quot; He plays the same irritable, pugnacious, f-word-spewing character as in 90 percent of his work, but who cares? Some actors are so good at playing one character that they get away with it no matter how many times itu0026#39;s reprised. Leary is one of those actors. His talents mainly lie in stand-up comedy, so his range isnu0026#39;t that broad. But Learyu0026#39;s good at playing Leary, or an extension of himself, and Iu0026#39;d much rather see him in that role than as, say, a sensitive romantic lead. I loved watching him beat the guy up with a toaster and the other one with a golf club. I love to see Leary do stuff like that. Jay Mohr, a fellow stand-up comedian, is also good mainly at playing that particular role and thatu0026#39;s what he does in this movie. Not a big stretch for him either, but itu0026#39;s what heu0026#39;s good at. It was also cool to see u0026quot;Everybody Loves Raymondu0026#39;su0026quot; Brad Garrett in a more serious role, and using language he canu0026#39;t use on TV. The whole film is basically filled with 4-letter words, but it fits the testosterone-filled tone, being that the cast is predominantly male. There is as much excitement as there is dark humor. Director Peter Ou0026#39;Fallon balances those elements nicely. And I loved the theme song over the credit sequence. For some reason, itu0026#39;s still pounding in my head. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMy score: 7 (out of 10)”