I didn't find this movie to be unwatchable or one of the worst I've seen, as many have commented on here. It's also not a brilliant piece of film making.
The characters were so stereotypical and predictable (cookie-cutter gangster, generic tough guys with hearts of gold, good cop, bad cop, crooked politician, kind old lady, fiery Latina, etc...), it was hard to develop much serious interest in any of them. I found a lot of scenes highly comical; the problem is, I wasn't sure I was supposed to be laughing. When the movie obviously tried for comic relief, I just sighed. It was during the highly "dramatic" or heart-felt scenes where I found myself laughing hysterically. The dinner table scene where each of the four brothers remembers "Mom" was so bad, it made me cringe and laugh out loud at the same time. I think this confusion persists throughout the movie. It's never clear how seriously we're supposed to take any of this.
The plot is full of gigantic holes and leaps in logic. However, movies do require a certain suspension of disbelief, so I'll let most of it slide. The characters are mere cartoons, so nothing feels real anyway. The most real thing here is the setting in Detroit. It looks gritty, cold, abandoned and dangerous. I'm sure Detroit residents weren't thrilled by the city's portrayal in this movie (although it may be at least somewhat accurate).
It's hard to judge any of the acting, because the writing and direction are so uneven and mediocre. Overall, this felt like a decent made-for-TV movie. The plot, direction and acting were on par with a predictable TV crime drama.
5 out of 10 from me. It didn't make me snooze, but I certainly wouldn't recommend this to anyone either.
The characters were so stereotypical and predictable (cookie-cutter gangster, generic tough guys with hearts of gold, good cop, bad cop, crooked politician, kind old lady, fiery Latina, etc...), it was hard to develop much serious interest in any of them. I found a lot of scenes highly comical; the problem is, I wasn't sure I was supposed to be laughing. When the movie obviously tried for comic relief, I just sighed. It was during the highly "dramatic" or heart-felt scenes where I found myself laughing hysterically. The dinner table scene where each of the four brothers remembers "Mom" was so bad, it made me cringe and laugh out loud at the same time. I think this confusion persists throughout the movie. It's never clear how seriously we're supposed to take any of this.
The plot is full of gigantic holes and leaps in logic. However, movies do require a certain suspension of disbelief, so I'll let most of it slide. The characters are mere cartoons, so nothing feels real anyway. The most real thing here is the setting in Detroit. It looks gritty, cold, abandoned and dangerous. I'm sure Detroit residents weren't thrilled by the city's portrayal in this movie (although it may be at least somewhat accurate).
It's hard to judge any of the acting, because the writing and direction are so uneven and mediocre. Overall, this felt like a decent made-for-TV movie. The plot, direction and acting were on par with a predictable TV crime drama.
5 out of 10 from me. It didn't make me snooze, but I certainly wouldn't recommend this to anyone either.