By that I mean that bad movies fail at the box office. And, make no mistake about it, this is a bad movie. The basic premise is simply ludicrous and it would have been a better movie if the device employed was something simple and straightforward...like magic.
As far as the actors, everyone is over the top. Liotta punches his way through the film like he's still a gangster. Peter Coyote starts out at a tolerably restrained level, but shifts into high gear by the third act. Everyone else is either non-existent, or in your face.
The bad guys seem to know (and anticipate) everything. There's a major red herring, but you'll see through it immediately and identify the real bad guy, so there's no suspense to speak of. And the violations of law enforcement and investigative procedures are absolutely ludicrous.
The real show-stopper for me was the deceased wife.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!
So, this guy is still terribly in love with his wife, even after she's murdered and he is tried for (and found innocent of) her murder. Turns out that she was having an affair with one of his co-workers, got knocked up by the co-worker, and decided to get back together with the cuckold when she started to show. She doesn't tell him she's pregnant before she's killed, but her helpful friends and family carry on the lie by telling the husband it's his kid she was carrying. How's that for a sympathetic character? Yeah, a real angel.
END SPOILERS!
So, basically, this movie is not good. FX are OK and photography is acceptable, but just a bad story, bad script, and bad acting.
As far as the actors, everyone is over the top. Liotta punches his way through the film like he's still a gangster. Peter Coyote starts out at a tolerably restrained level, but shifts into high gear by the third act. Everyone else is either non-existent, or in your face.
The bad guys seem to know (and anticipate) everything. There's a major red herring, but you'll see through it immediately and identify the real bad guy, so there's no suspense to speak of. And the violations of law enforcement and investigative procedures are absolutely ludicrous.
The real show-stopper for me was the deceased wife.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!
So, this guy is still terribly in love with his wife, even after she's murdered and he is tried for (and found innocent of) her murder. Turns out that she was having an affair with one of his co-workers, got knocked up by the co-worker, and decided to get back together with the cuckold when she started to show. She doesn't tell him she's pregnant before she's killed, but her helpful friends and family carry on the lie by telling the husband it's his kid she was carrying. How's that for a sympathetic character? Yeah, a real angel.
END SPOILERS!
So, basically, this movie is not good. FX are OK and photography is acceptable, but just a bad story, bad script, and bad acting.