Approximate two and a half weeks is current pace of film release with Bruce Willis. I chose for watching White Elephant due to that it isn’t extreme cheap in quality of filming staff. A stuntman-turned-to-directing Jesse V. Johnson did exquisite staging of The Package, which I watched due to scriptwriter Derek Kolstad whose talent I discovered in his previous, which was a debut, One in the Chamber. These two films for DVD excel flicks of that market by having elaborated and intricate screenplay instead a usual potboiler. Derek Kolstad’s achievement were also in writing of incredible dialogs and giving personalities and significance even to not main characters. The Package by Kolstad’s screenplay discloses acting magnificence of actor staff such as Darren Shahlavi and Dolph Lundgren. Jesse V. Johnson’s amazing adaption of this screenplay made me to follow for him. However, absence of colossal scriptwriter, which is Derek Kolstad, revealed about importance of that basis. Johnson’s next film Savage Dog had everywhere mess in a story, which was written by director himself. Cheap reconstruction of 50s didn’t play meaning and accepted as attempt to look on that period. A couple of likeable fighting while staging rarely was good. I didn’t watch director’s subsequent two films, which he started to manufacture with fast frequency, until The Debt Collector where I equally saw again that The Package is successful due to it’s scriptwriter. I didn’t take attention on Johnson since that. White Elephant didn’t swing to thought on improvement of screenplay writing of filmmaker. And I was more dubious about that by learning information on a plot. I relied on getting of entertainment from action what was without brink of optimism too. It was still about Bruce’s sudden step away from acting.
I think I will right in assumption that Jesse V. Johnson improved White Elephant. It’s a work of solid individual. Johnson evinces of creativity in staging and right using of music, which also catches by mind. His characters have a large background. Only was a moment what I never like in films. Using of real facts of actors for his personage isn’t right for me as saving of the Ukrainian origin for Olga Kurylenko who brilliantly speaks English without accent. Achievement for development of personages do fine actors as especially great performers Michael Rooker and John Malkovich.
Nevertheless, that elaboration can’t improve an initially failed screenplay. Two police detectives witnessing how one criminal puts a dynamite and it does explosion of a restaurant. No police organizing for seek and arrest of that man. In the world of this film, these two police detectives become targets of mafia about that they don’t assume. No one of them does report and get protection what indicates to thinking that police represented in four people. The other two are corrupted till hell. Kurylenko’s personage who is one of good police detectives understands that she is in mafia’s kill list after detecting bloodstains by ultraviolet light by visiting house of her colleague who was killed, cut on pieces and buried in two tourist suitcases. It’s hardly to find understanding in plot. A hotel manager walks out in heat of shooting with “What’s fuck going on here?!” and gets a bullet. Only in that film, boys and girls, Bruce Willis will kill with MP-40. Sometimes I looked with sadness on Bruce’s acting efforts. I’m glad that he throws a ball now. In that film, he plays a Nazi sympathy mafia leader with not so pure Aryan name Arnold Solomon. His only gun firing was among of preposterous.
Nicely made shooting in two scenes (killing of Russian mafia boss and confrontation with a little bit huge person in kitchen.). Action saves careless to everything pace. I still was preferring to make other activities then have full devotion to this film. Johnson wants to do with inclusion of realism and ends up with that a bad human being goes out in full size without taking a cover. No trace of firing slugs on a wall and doors as sometimes no blood from a shot and a knife does splashing of red liquid from a neck, which cutting does without lacerations. Kurylenko isn’t convincing in shooting from holding a rifle.
After Bruce’s retirement, I see increasing in famous actors in productions for VOD. I presume there were movies intended for aforementioned actor. Four more films left with him for release.
P.S. Do you want to make me to believe it is Africa in conclusion scene?
