posted earlier this week in the "Grade the Last Movie You Watched" thread:

Domino - Some people will hate this movie a lot. If you can't stand the fast, chaotic editing in Armageddon, The Bourne Supremacy, Moulin Rouge, etc. this movie is 200x more extreme. But for me, I found Tony Scott's ADD direction to be pure art. It works so well that I think it will be an influential and defining benchmark to future films for future filmmakers. It's either love it or hate it.

Another great part of the movie was its hilarious comedic element (Christopher Walken is gold). It's not as dark as its subject matter suggests and it doesn't take itself seriously at all. Accentuated by the ADD direction, this contributes to an even more extraordinarily fun and entertaining time than most popcorn flicks.

I give it a solid A, though I won't recommend it to people who prefer conservative editing. (I definitely won't be surprised if most of the grades given in this thread are C's or lower.)

You know that little warning that you see in game booklets about flashing images possibly inducing epileptic seizures? Well, they should put a warning like that on the poster, cause damn...

I thought Domino was a pretty fun flick that fell short of the lofty expectations I had for it. The three main problems with the movie are; the manic editing, the scattershot narrative and the terrible music. I know that crazy type of editing is Scott's claim to fame lately and I can certainly take a good dose of it, but he really does go overboard in Domino. It's fair to say that he really blew it with that final action set-piece, which while still cool, could have been classic.

The story presented in Domino is very interesting, the script very sharp and witty with at least a handful of memorable characters and nice twists and turns, but the way it's presented was a little cut-and-paste, a little too jumpy and messy, if you will. Look no further than the scene in the desert with the "wanderer" to know what I'm talking about. Definitely a few head-scratching scenes.

But yeah, I did like the movie. Keira Knightley is just awesome in this, exactly how I hoped she would be and she manages to sell the fact that she is a bounty hunter. It was pretty surreal hearing the swears coming out of her mouth and her getting super pissed off, but it was all 100% convincing. Not to mention the fact that she does great with the more emotional moments, which are sadly few and far between. My biggest hope was that the movie would be less this type of manic, self-parody/violent comedy and rather a more serious affair. I wanted to get more into Domino's character. I wanted to learn more about Choco and Ed and have everyone's conversations be more than punchlines or tough talk. Edgar and Mickey both had great charisma and personality to spare, but not enough development. I think that token love scene between Domino and Choco now takes the number 1 spot from the one in Kingdom of Heaven as the most awkwardly placed in a major motion picture of 2005.

Apart from the three main leads, the acting was strong across the board. Chris Walken's tv producer was funny (along with his assistant, played by Mena Suvari, who I haven't seen in anything since American Beauty), Alf provided the biggest laughs and deserves his own movie and the 90210 alum was definitely a cool in-joke.

The music in the movie really annoyed me. Not the main score mind you, but the titles music, the other assorted crap ladened with swear words that attempted to emphasize the on-screen action and the lame inclusion of a song from Macy Gray who has a small cameo. It's not all bad though and there are some nice bits with licensed music (near the end), it's really just a couple of the same songs keep getting recycled and thrown in at the worst times.

So in closing, I weep for the film that could have been, but nonetheless enjoyed what was offered.

I'd give it a B.

A really tough movie to grade. On one hand it was brilliant, on the other it was headache-inducing. The acting was solid, the plot intruging, and the pacing torrential. It never ceased to be entertaining, but then again it never ceased to cause one to stare at the screen occasionally wondering what had just transpired.

Overall, I'd say a B+. Full review later.

I liked it!

One major problem though --->> It's wayyy too loonnnggggg! It just goes to reinforce the genius of Quentin Tarantino... if he'd a made this it woulda no doubt been Kill Domino Part 1 and Kill Domino Part 2. There was just way too much story, especially when told in this MTV super-manufactured editing style - which, BTW works great! I especially loved all the title work. By the end of 125 minutes though, I was plain worn out!

Keira was good as always (though she's the definition of the right-place-right-time celebrity), even appearing topless momentarily (of course, nothing to compare to her breast work in The Jacket). Plus, one bit of Keira's dialogue that she delivers to Lucy Liu is sure to go down in sound bite history: "When you go to bed alone tonight, it'll be my p***y you're dreamin' of".

The rest of the cast was way fun in their amped out roles (happily for this viewer, including a rare Tom Waits appearance).

Just too darn bad about the surplus of longitude in this baby, otherwise it woulda rated a perfect score...

4 out of 5.

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Agree on all points, though I think the end result for me is more of a low B bordering on a B-. It's pretty much all dependent on how much you can withstand a film being self indulgent, because Domino may be the most of any film I've ever seen.

so what was true and what was not.

since this was supposely mostly a real story - wished that they kept the hard to believe extras out of the story.

- mostly using of the celebrity actors and the blowing up of the casino.

LOVED IT. This is by far the most entertaining movie of the year. In fact, it's so entertaining that I didn't mind if it went off on a tangent with the whole "blacktina" thing, for example, and that was hilarious as well. The movie was the perfect adrenaline rush.

A+

Pretty good. A bit crazy (hard to follow scenes as a result of crazy cinematography). Solid acting and very entertaining.

B

Impressive, so far no poster in this thread has given it lower than a B. I'm glad your minds haven't been pre-programmed by critics into automatically trashing the film for going against filmmaking conventions.

I managed time to actually see a movie and I loved this one. A+. Best movie i've seen this year.. but i've hardly seen that many movies soo yeah

Unbelievably entertaining, 'Domino' is one of my favorite films thus far this year. The mix of drama and humor can be tough to pull off but Tony Scott does it here. Richard Kelly's script, by the way, features the most hilarious single scene in a film this year with a segment on "mixed-race initiative" on the Jerry Springer show. The flow chart was hysterical and I don't want to ruin it for you. Scott's usual hyperkinetic style works perfectly for this film. As for the performances, they're quite good. In fact, as Tony the Tiger would say, "They're Grrrreat." Knightley shows her range with a role that requires her to change from cheeky humor and hard-boiled drama. She does tough really well. Supporting performances by the likes of Mickey Rourke, Edgar Ramirez, Christopher Walken, Brian Austin Green, and Ian Ziering (playing themselves, AKA has-beens from "Beverly Hills 90210") are also really good. Walken in particular is a laugh-riot.

In all, 'Domino' is a blast of a motion picture that deserves to be seen by all who consider themselves afficionados of cinema.

Grade: A

I can't believe Domino is sitting in the teens at RT. Bunch of garbage. The movie was pretty darn good.

i got to see it in sneak preview on the 5th. what a disapointmnet.
i was hoping it'd ROCK but it just didn't. Very slow, kept going in circle to damn much.
crappy music video effect. supposed to be cool but came off lame. the action sequence were just okey.

glad the tickets were free.


C-

finally saw Domino

BJs Grade:

A-

great film pure entertainment, though a bit crazy in some areas, thats forgivable due to the awesome acting from the whole cast recomending it anyone looking for some crazy fun

Saw it again. It's terrible.

D+

why'd you see it twice if you hated it?

Domino was fantastic! Easily one of the most entertaining movies 05. Keira Knightley has to be the greatest young actress working today. Rourke and 'Choco' were very good to. Just wanted to see more of them. All in all, I enjoyed this movie immensely. A

*bump* for dvd release

I'll be watching this tonight. Sooo excited.

Saw it again and I reeeeeally love it. Keira's awesome!

A-


Domino really blew me away. I really had no expectations for it. I thought Tony Scott's Man on Fire was a decent movie, but far from great. I thought that his editing style in Man on Fire was overdone and the movie itself dragged a bit. The trailer for Domino just promised more of the same, so I was hardly excited.

Thankfully, I was wrong. I found this movie to be far superior to Washington's vehicle. For one, Tony Scott's crazy ADD editing worked here. This movie was definitely a case of style over substance, but it was one of the most wonderful instances of such a film. The style carries the movie and fits perfectly in with the tone of the whole film. It was overdone at certain points, but never seemed to bother me.

For another, the cast was gold in this one. I haven't seen Pride and Prejudice yet, but Knightley delivered her best performance to date in this one. It was daring raw and really good. Mickey Rourke who definitely has had a great comeback year has a great appearance alongside with the newcomer Edgar Ramirez. Walken was a bit wasted, but he's cool anytime he's on-screen, so that's fine.

The movie was finally something I have been waiting for for a while. It was just a really good action movie, with cool characters, good set-pieces, nifty technical details and some originality. The editing, while certainly not for everyone, was one of the best I have seen all last year long. The cinematography was something special too. On top of that, the movie really has some nice bleak humor infused to it.

On the downside, I really didn't enjoy the whole scene in the desert on drugs. This is where I thought the movie definitely crossed the surreal line way too much, especially with the appearance of that nonsense "preacher". Other than that, I was thrilled throughout the entire movie. The good action and the interesting narrative kept me entertained almost all the time.

Dr. Lecter is this movie good enough for most overlooked?

This is the one I will be voting for!

Now we need to get lennier to do the same!