Focus (2015)

Focus: Directed by Glenn Ficarra, John Requa. With Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Adrian Martinez, Gerald McRaney. In the midst of veteran con man Nicky’s latest scheme, a woman from his past – now an accomplished femme fatale – shows up and throws his plans for a loop.

“Focus is an entertaining and comedic enough film – doesnu0026#39;t hurt the filmmakers to exploit the beauty of the actors and locations in the film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf you think too much about the film Focus, the film begins to unravel as the glaring pitfalls and weaknesses pile up well after the film concludes.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJess (Margot Robbie) is an ingénue thief, boosting wallets and watches in New York City. When her latest mark Nicky (Will Smith) turns out to be a veteran con man, she rebounds quickly and pleads to be his apprentice. Nicky declines and is on his way to his next crime of fast handed deception. Not taking u0026quot;Nou0026quot; for an answer, she follows him and takes part in a high stakes scheme, falling for Nicky in the process. But you know the saying, thereu0026#39;s no honor amongst thieves and thereu0026#39;s little trust too.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWithin Focus there are moments of fast paced fun that allows the audience to get lost in the movie. And then there are juvenile sub-par jokes by writers/directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa that pull you right back out of the movie and into the stiff chairs of the movie theater. In the end, the balance between these two types of moments is about half and half.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMost of these moments include Jess, who it seems neither men knew how to write. She is awkward, unpolished and at times bordering on foolishly and unprofessionally stupid. The character shows no growth, despite being under the mentorship of Nicky, which is improbable and unbelievable. However, when Jess is across from a table from Nickyu0026#39;s sidekick Farhad, played by the scene stealing Adrian Martinez, or in an ensemble action scene she is a fast-learner and worthy member of the group. This character shows the flaw and lack of clear vision in Focus that causes it to fail at being spectacular or even very great.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe writers and directors of Focus fail to find the a consistent tone or mood in the film or even the filmu0026#39;s niche, sometimes action, sometimes romance, sometimes fun caper and other times idiotic comedy. The film could have done without the romance, since Smith and Robbie have about as much chemistry as shoe polish.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFocusu0026#39;s faults are exacerbated by the poorly paced plot that relies upon telling rather than showing, a lazy tactic typical of a substandard story and script. It saves itself by having ridiculously good looking and well dressed lead actors set in the richest locations imaginable, once again letting the viewer get lost in the film living vicariously through the leads.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis isnu0026#39;t to say that Focus is a bad movie, the audience I was with laughed consistently and regularly at the film and even waited with baited breath when things went awry. The problem is, it is far from perfect or even close to the same level as the filmmakersu0026#39; previous project.”