Ready 2 Die JBTF10...
Estimated Read-Time = 46.1 minutes
JBTF10? Not Worth Watching.
Review synopsis: Well, let's start with what it does have in its first 10.
This is a movie that, I think, assumes you saw the cover/poster and wants to get you into what's promised as quickly as possible. This is a movie that, I think, is trying to do a lot with very little. But if the goal was to (and yes, I realize I'm saying this) "cut to the chase," why not start right in the car? Maybe the absolute lack of ability to tell what the hell is going on in the car would make for a stronger first 10? Cops chasing 4 tough-looking guys in a car, who are all wearing sunglasses, and there's a giant open bag of money in the back seat — did anything we saw before this add anything that was needed after? Aside from the avocados?
Originally inspired by Edgar Wright and Baby Driver, I'd been wondering about having rhythm, being able to dance, and how a good film helps you feel like you're moving in sync. That's a rewarding sensation, especially when you don't know where it's taking you. Judging by Ready 2 Die's first 10, I'm left wondering if having rhythm as a filmmaker is even enough. For even if Ready manages to find a rhythm down the road, does it matter if it's forced to force having style?
Stars: Pablo Santiago, Jacob Martinez, John Azpilicueta
Directed by: John Azpilicueta
Written by: John Azpilicueta, Ted Grau
Check streaming availability via: JustWatch
JBTF10 Review: Ready 2 Die
Found by Netflixing: Baby Driver
I read once of scientists who were studying random groups of strangers sitting in a movie theater together. (Well, let's hope they were scientists, right?) And these (probably) scientists observed that as the movie played out, these large groups of strangers would all begin to breathe and blink in time together. They observed this same synchronization with subsequent groups of strangers. I wonder what the movie was. Better not to know I suppose. And I'm sure they controlled for that.
Though perhaps unrelated, I've also always heard that seeing film in the theater is physiologically similar to being in a dream state. Bullshit or not, I always loved that particular idea, as dreams are tragically one of the most incredible things you cannot share with another person.
But perhaps some of the above is why sometimes film-going can feel experiential, akin to seeing a band perform live. You can leave a theater feeling moved, that you'd been part of what just happened. And what the film's about has very little to do with this. Perhaps you achieve this while watching a character cross a desert, or with an astronaut trapped in a bookcase (made of love?), or over the course of a well-executed car chase. If it's got the rhythm, it'll dance. And, friends, Edgar Wright has rhythm.
It's tempting to reach for the Tums here, because talking about how rhythm works feels about as simple as performing beat poetry about standup comedy in front of an audience.
But in music, tapping into the rhythm connects you to the song. It makes you a contributor. So it goes with cinematic rhythm, established in a manner that allows us to sync up to it (perhaps as an entire audience). This is important. If you aren't in sync with a movie, how will it get you on the edge of your seat, or knock you back into it with a laugh?
It's Wright's gifts for rhythm that increasingly shine through in his movies. (For a wonderfully constructed primer, especially with how it relates to comedy, check out Tony Zhou's Edgar Wright - How to Do Visual Comedy ... just ... you know, come back ...)
Which perhaps brings us to Wright's most recent visual achievement, June 2017's Baby Driver, well-received by many as, basically, a Car Chase Musical. Oh wait, but what? It made money too? A sequel could happen someday? Holy shit.
I guess, in a way, this is proof that everything I've said above is super correct. Too bad I didn't see Baby Driver. I wanted to. Almost got there. Babysitter fell through ... I suck.
This all being said, about the importance of rhythm in film, we've got some time to pass until that sequel comes out in theaters, if it ever does. So today we see where Baby Driver ... drives ... us to — on Netflix. Here's where the search began:
Interesting, as always. No surprise that Netflix has plenty to serve up, sans the film I'm searching for. At quick glance, at least four films in the top two rows of results seem somewhat thematically related. Unless it's just pinging off the specific words? Is "baby" the reason I’m staring at a movie starring Triple H and a Harry Potter dog movie?
But the film isn't Baby ... or Driver ... it's Baby Driver ... which promises cars, actions, guns, mayhems, styles, capers. … So I whittle it down to Drive Hard or Ready 2 Die; the former's got actors I know. But Baby in Baby Driver, he's an unknown to me. So we're going to roll the dice with Ready 2 Die and see what the first 10 brings us. (As long as it makes some sort of sense, it's the right kind of sense for me.)
The trick here is to reset ... focus ... and not let any disappointment I may have that I'm not sitting in the theater about ready to see an Edgar Wright movie bias the very first thing this movie chooses to show me:
...
Okay. Nope. No bias.
Wine will help me now. Wine-in-a-box. Pouring myself some wine-in-a-box ...
If it's got rhythm, it'll dance.
Let's go:
Ready 2 Die begins with darkness, with sounds of wind creating an arid ambiance. We get right to the headline. I assume using a "2" instead of a "to" is meant to suggest, something? Texting?
The soundtrack shifts, becoming kind of crunchy. This may be a newer trend in indistinct movie sounds, heir to the Inception BRAAAAHM.
We get us some footage. Sepia. Grainy. It's a digital filter thing ... but whatever. We can't all shoot on 70mm, Mr. Nolan.
A Zippo is placed on a table next to a plastic bag and some other indiscriminate items.
Fast cuts: Rolling papers. A cigarette. Or is that a joint? Oh dammit. I feel lame. And the fact is, at this point, I feel even lamer because here I realize the damned subtitles are on. See, the kids. And sometimes when E and I finally get the kids down and we can watch a movie from the WORLD OUTSIDE, E makes me turn the volume way down. So we subtitles. The sigh I feel rising up in me here is helpfully thwarted by a big ol' sip of the wine-in-a-box.
BUT GUESS WHAT FOLKS. Not today. Not for Ready 2 Die. 'Cause right now everybody's at Target, so captions are going OFF and we're turning this sucker up to like ... 37. Don't want to blow the speakers on my TV ... need a damn soundbar ...
We un-pause. BOOM! Freeze-frame on the guy with probably the marijuana cigarette. Copy over picture:
Psycho / Hitman for S. Cali Cartel
Okay. Helpful? Again, I should know this, but I assume that’s the Southern California cartel (nope, the real (original) cartel is Colombian -Ed.). Back to motion, and Psycho looks pretty excited about puffing on his sweet, sweet probably-pot. The copy changes to inform us that a warrant has been issued for Psycho's arrest.
There is much gun-cockery. Cut to another man prepping some sort of long gun. He aims it at the camera, looks down the sight, and we freeze again.
Sniper / Ex US-Ranger.
The subhead then informs us that Sniper is "broke." This made me laugh. Until it added, "Unemployed." Aww. This made me feel bad for laughing. They kind of set me up there.
Cut to another man sporting a tie and a white, button-down shirt. We hear the sound of a helicopter passing overhead.
Lucky / Was accepted into the SEAL’s training camp.
Anyone can apply to be a SEAL right? I thought it was the CAMP that is bonkers, weeding all but an elite few, who THEN still have to go on and prove they can operate at SEAL level day in and day out all over the world. That makes you a SEAL? I check this quick at military.com and ... maybe? Not? (See, kids, this is why it sometimes pays to hold the snark).
Don't want to detour here, but this pit stop DOES potentially give us some info about this character:
NAVY SEALS QUALIFICATIONS
All SEAL candidates are required to meet the following qualification standards and pass the Physical Screening Test (PST). So Lucky would, in theory:
Be a U.S. citizen.
Be a high school graduate (or meet High Performance Predictor Profile (HP3) criteria).
Be proficient in reading, speaking, writing, and understanding the English language.
Have a clean record - Not be under civil restraint, a substance abuser nor have a pattern of minor convictions or any non-minor, misdemeanor, or felony convictions (waivers are granted depending on number and severity).
Have uncorrected vision in the better eye (that is) no worse than 20/70, the worse eye no more than 20/100. Both eyes must be correctable to 20/20. Color deficiencies require approval.
The movie then chimes in with more copy to inform us that Lucky was discharged due to "personal emotional problems." Okay ...
More cutting, close-ups, bullets being loaded into a gun. Cut back to reveal multiple people around the table. Still more cuts. Lots of weapons. Lots of prepping.
Then we cut to another of our "character close-ups," this time to a man who is not smiling. We read:
Smiley / Ex-carnal of S. Cali Cartel
And ... we don't get any secondary info on Smiley.
We cut back again. (Heads up friend. What I don't realize at this point in the movie is how many cuts are in the first 10 minutes of this movie. Tempted to count them. We'll see. Just bear with me, because at this moment, I have no idea how I'm going to keep writing "cut to" without driving us both crazy. Wish us luck?)
More and more cuts. It appears these thorough individuals are sitting around a table in a proper dining room. Maybe it's the fact that the handle of the door we’re looking past is a very particular type of clear, stylized glass. Or maybe it's the chandelier above the table that has those grandmotherly diamond things dangling from it ... but omfg, Smiley's abuelita might be upstairs right now serenely watching soap operas. And that might make Ready 2 Die pretty awesome?
Fade to black. Music winds down. Ladies and gentlemen ... all of the bullets must now be placed in all of the guns.
Fade up on an office building. Or what I believe to be still photo of an office building (time perhaps for a classic "planning the heist” scene?). It appears we've shifted from digital grainy sepia to digital grainy black and white.
We cut to another photograph, this time of a Federal Reserve bank sign and behind it, a sign that reminds us that this is a non-smoking facility. (Sorry Psycho, this job just got a little tougher for you, buddy.)
Then we're back to live action, assumedly inside of this non-smoking building, and see a man in sunglasses and a full facemask moving slowly between cubicles, making some SWAT indications with his index finger (no-go on the planning scene, it would seem).
Cut to more masked, armed men moving slowly through this office ... bank. It feels very, Sunday-afternoony-closed in this place. Uh yeah it is. Timing man ... all part of the plan we didn't get to see come together.
Suddenly one of our guys pounces on a guard that is now there. This surprises a young man very suddenly seated at a cubicle nearby. This must be a credit union. (I don't know what that means, but I'm leaving it in.)
As the intensity of this scene does not begin to mount, I realize the cubicles we see are mostly completely empty, aside from one that appears to have a couple avocados resting in it. The set dresser must be on their Whole30.
A woman screams! Cutting again reveals more employees being rounded up by the gang, forced down on their knees. More screaming. The 180-degree rule is directly violated amidst a door being kicked the fuck in.
Since our guys are still in masks, I keep waiting for some of the personalities established in the intro to manifest here. Right? For instance, if I'd been discharged from the SEAL training camp due to personal emotional problems, I feel like they'd probably start to manifest during the stress of an armed robbery.
Instead of character development, we get a lot of swearing and guns being put into people's faces. Screaming Woman points out where the bank manager can be found. And boy is he waiting to be found, in his office, behind his desk, just kind of ... sitting there. A lot of screaming and swearing has been going on for a couple of minutes here ... and this guy is still sitting in his office behind his desk. That's kind of a dick move. Oh well. He's forced out of his office.
“Anybody want to die,” someone asks.
That someone, who is probably Psycho, starts to point his pistol at office employees, "... eenie ... meenie ... miney ..."
Oh boy. What’s the point of killing someone here, Psycho? To show the manager that you mean business? Everyone's been pretty helpful so far.
Psycho gets to moe, aiming the pistol right into the camera ... which is an interesting choice, because when you do that, I think “camera.” Therefore, "I’m watching a movie …"
Especially when he doesn't shoot.
Instead, we cut to the manager being thrown to the ground. The keys are demanded. To the safe m-er f-er, someone helpfully clarifies.
The keys are produced, then taken. And after everyone is kindly reminded not to move, the gang moves toward an ordinary-looking door that has on ordinary piece of paper taped to it. I'd show this, because I'd love to know what the paper says. But the shot is already fading down by the time we've cut to it. In the darkness, a quote appears:
“Death is not the greatest loss in life …”
The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.”
Norman Cousins
So Norman Cousins was a world peace advocate, amongst other things, who, in the course of his lifetime, won both the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism and the Peggy V. Helmerich Award. Ironic, perhaps, that to truly believe in world peace, one must be ready 2 die?
After this quote hangs out there a bit, we cut to an aerial shot of Los Angeles, digital grainy full-color. Kudos for the mix of film "stocks" — but I'm not certain what the shifts are meant to signify. Time? This is the present? Black and white was the past? And sepia was, more the past? That'll have to hold for now.
Cut to the inside of a car. We're seeing backs of heads, everyone in the car is wearing black hats and coats. There's a big, open bag of money on the floor. Probably should zip that up, yeah?
Someone in the car shouts at Lucky to watch out. Lucky seems surprised. It appears Lucky is driving. Did our guys not know they were being chased? Lucky seems pretty put out by the fact the cops are on them.
More copter shots. Sirens. Cop cars accelerating. People swearing. Lucky shifting. Engine revving.
Pyscho and Sniper are in the back seat. Psycho seems pretty bugged out while Sniper seems quite relaxed. Maybe THIS is a character trait? Or maybe Sniper's just thinking about being unemployed. I’ve been unemployed a few times. After you've been looking for work for a while, it's tough to stay optimistic. Surprising how much of your identity can get tied up with being employable. After a while, not being employable is all you can think about. Which becomes a bit of a death spiral, because you are still trying to stay positive enough to present well in interviews, or even look for them at all.
Or Sniper may look a bit despondent because, in this particular shot, it appears he got stuck in the middle of the back seat, which BLOWS in a full car. (But wait, there's only four of these guys, right? Maybe the open bag of money got its own seat?)
Suddenly, we cut (are flung) into one of the pursuing cop cars. This cop circles his finger around in the air to another cruiser right next to him. It's hard to tell what this move results in, as we are quickly flung back (out) to more cuts of cars racing, copters chasing, into one car, into another, swearing, backs of heads ... etc. It's the frenetic cutting of a Michael Bay film but without the nectarous bombast, overwhelming without being compelling.
To this, we begin to hear a woman voicing information over everything else going on. This might be a reporter in one of copters, giving play-by-play of what's going on, including some exposition from what WENT on: Our guys shot their way out of the bank, shooting six police officers and two civilians along the way. The woman wonders aloud if our guys might be paramilitary soldiers ... suggesting a level of skill we’ve not yet seen ...
"Hit it, Lucky!"
I feel bad for Lucky. I'm pretty sure he has been hitting it for a while now. And, by the way, "hit it" is more something you say when you first take off. It's not Lucky’s fault there's so much editing going on right now. He probably doesn't know where he's at right now either.
Our V.O. reporter informs us that the police are desperately trying to block the robbers’ escape. We'll take her word for it. And you know what, what’s the rush? I am not Police, but it seems like as long as a helicopter has them in its sights, the officers on the ground can just hang back a bit, ensuring nobody innocent gets hurt in the chase. If you’re already being chased, it’s already kind of over, isn’t it?
Oh man, more cuts from inside the car, but at least this round (salvo) includes a shot where Sniper seems to be enjoying some breeze at his window. I'm worried about that guy, you know? So seeing this makes me happy.
At this point we've been in the car long enough that I'm beginning to wonder if this entire film will take place in this car. I'm torn on this. On the one hand, it feels like we've already been in this car for an entire movie. But if the film embraced this and really focused on how our four friends and their personalities were tested over the course of a long and potentially doomed attempt to flee the police, that could be interesting?
But to that end, tension would need to be building. All these cuts, the sounds of the sirens, the revving and shifting of the engine, this would all need to be pulling us in as it propels us forward, coiling us into the spring — as opposed to spurts of ongoing yelling at poor Lucky, which begins evolving into everyone randomly yelling at everyone, interrupted by random cuts and the ever-present wailing of a police siren.
Psycho and Sniper in particular seem to be not getting along back in the back seat, due (I believe) in part to the fact that Psycho seems to be somewhat to very racist. Again, a lot of this is overhead during shots of the cars and cops and copters, so I have to assume it's Smiley('s voice) that begins weighing in to keep this back-seat argument from getting too heated, reminding them that everybody in the car is on the same side. I guess Smiley is the sensible one.
It's here Psycho('s voice) begs to differ with Smiley('s voice) over more cuts of getting away. Psycho reminds him how they — Smiley, Psycho and Lucky — go way back. Then Psycho dials up the racism to 11, saying in the process he doesn’t share the same sort of history with Sniper and objects to the overall inclusion of Sniper's person in their current situation.
Our getaway car and, I think, the same two cop cars that have been in pursuit the whole time, now turn via a series of cuts into a long alley. I applaud this decision. Because at this point, it's impossible to tell how long we've been escaping or even how far we've gone. Fair chance everyone's been driving around a mall parking lot for the last however long it's been. At least the alley is ... something else.
It's here in the alley that Sniper becomes, rightly, quite upset about Psycho's choice of words. But before the two can get physical, or as physical as one can get with someone sitting right next to you in the back seat of a car, Lucky plows the car into a large pile of boxes. Yes! Something ... happened! But nothing comes of this. The car keeps right on going ...
At least Psycho and Sniper's back-seat tussle is interrupted by this jolt ... of hitting cardboard boxes. Guess Lucky's eyesight isn't that great. Smiley takes advantage here, hitting (slapping?) some sense into Psycho who, in turn, seems genuinely surprised and hurt. Haha. We go back to our quick cuts, inside car, outside car, copter above, speeding down streets, as Smiley('s voice) chastises Psycho and Sniper for acting like women. This comment of Smiley's happens to land on a shot of Psycho playfully taking a long drag of his cigarette with one hand, while flipping the bird to one of the nearby cops with his other. No idea if this juxtaposition was intention, but it did make me laugh. Who knows, I certainly don't know how women act everywhere.
More cuts. More escaping from police. Oh man, we’ve been listening to the wail of sirens for a long, long time. But maybe that's intentional, right? Like, when you're actually being chased by (two) cops and it's all on the line, adrenaline pumping, large, carelessly open bag of cash on the floor of the car, the whole experience actually feels like an endless series of disconnected cuts of stuff while the wails of the police sirens slowly work their way into your skull like some parasitic, anxiety demon. The man knows he's got you boxed in, there's nowhere to go ... so it comes down to how long you can tough it out. There is probably a French term for this sort of filmmaking. Whether or not this is that, I do not know ... as I begin to wonder if my mind wandering toward these wine-enabled non-sequiturs is its way of protecting itself.
Speaking of personal emotional problems, back in the car, Lucky seems pretty tense still. It's kind of hard to tell through his sunglasses. Hell, I'm just trying to throw Lucky a bone here because everyone's been screaming at him this whole time.
Case in point, Lucky plows the car into some more stacked debris. Lucky's moniker is yet to pay off, unless it's because these boxes have all been empty. Our two police cars are still either right on their butts, or not. Close but not. Are these the best cops on the force? Or are these two policemen just trolling Lucky?
We may never know. Because suddenly we cut to black! BLACK! We cut to black! What's happening? Who cares as long as what will be is not what has been!
Extreme close-up on someone's eyes.
We read: Earlier that day.
This is new! I don't think we're in a car! We're free!
Wait. Earlier that day?
Back to the sepia tones from earlier in the movie, we see booze being bottle-chugged, bullets being fondled. We're still quite shot-cutty, but nowhere near like before.
So this is earlier that same day. My brain is throwing up a red flag here, but I'm so happy we're out of the Forever Car that I'm tempted to just roll with whatever's happening here. But robbing the non-smoking bank was earlier in the day from the car chase, yes? And loading all the guns at abuelita's house was earlier in the day from that. So with a little leap of logic, we'll assume we are now before all of that? Oh gawd, who cares. Just keep me out of that car, please movie? I'm obviously not ready 2 die. Not there.
We are now with Lucky in a bedroom earlier that day. There is a lot hard-drinking-in-the-proximity-of-firearms going on. Which is interesting, as the First 10 of Falcon Rising featured a very similar scene. Or, correction, a very similar situation. Despite the similarities in what we're witnessing, these two scenes couldn't feel more different. Again, a director's job is not to simply show events in the order the screenplay has outlined. Events in an order do not a story make. With Falcon, props to the director for slowly walking us into the character's life and less-than-ideal emotional state. We were encouraged to sit WITH Falcon as he (spoiler alert!) contemplated blowing his brains out. We weren't frantically edited all over the place in an attempt to evoke something artificially in the moment. Also, by beginning Falcon Rising with the main character contemplating suicide, the tone is set for everything that happens after. What's the point of flashing BACK to Lucky unhinged at this point in this film? Tarantino?
By the state of his actor’s acting, we can infer Lucky's been putting down quite a bit of booze, which (hey!) may explain why he'll be struggling to get away from the cops later in this day. I find this kind of funny, but sense it is not meant to be.
In sudden voice-over, Lucky informs (us?) that while he's been in bed drinking, he's realized that days are just days, not in the good way.
We flash here from the digital sepia to a new digital black and white, so I believe we've flashed back in time again? But we were already in a flashback, because we had been in the Forever Car. So we're not quite incepting at the snow level yet, but this casual use of time and space makes it even harder to follow. Tarantino ... ?
Now potentially earliest before later that day, we're in a room, a classroom perhaps. There is a young woman. And a pen. A Pen Woman Girl (it’s catchier). And what I think is meant to be a younger Lucky. Maybe we're in a community college class. I hope this isn't supposed to be junior high or something. Lucky has a pen. He is trying to use his pen. But his pen will not work.
A blonde woman has a pen. But she is chewing on her pen. With her open mouth. And somewhere Sigmund Freud high-fives himself. And the lady stops chewing on her own pen with her mouth and throws it at Lucky's lap. And Jung hugs himself and coos. And blonde woman seems really excited by all this. And hands are shook as Lucky agrees to accept this woman's pen as his own pen. And I suddenly remember that there was once a show in the ’90s called Silk Stockings.
Before the beefy saxophone solo can begin, we cut forward to Lucky Earlier this Day, and the booze-chugging continues. Only here, we can clearly now see a 40 oz. bottle of Mickey’s Fine Malt Liquor on Lucky's bedside table. It's empty. And this is a far clearer indication that Lucky is completely suicidal than when, a moment later, he places the bullet in a revolver and places it under his chin.
Ooooh boy, and we flash back again. Back, but I don't think as back as before? Hell, I don't know anymore. Things are black and white again. Some guy is talking to Lucky about how, you know, blood for blood? Lucky looks conflicted. Then we cut to a POV shot of ... someone. Are we now in the random guy who is talking to Lucky? The guy in our face is pointing a screwdriver at us saying, "He's not going to do this to me. Not now."
We cut back to the man with Lucky. In two days, he or Smiley is going to be killed. So Smiley wants this man to do another favor. Let's go ahead and assume this is Lucky's brother.
We cut back to Lucky in bed, staring at a single bullet. He places the bullet in a revolver. Behind him we see the type of blinds my wife wishes we had in the house. Or those really expensive wood ones.
We cut to an old woman (Smiley's abuelita?) telling Lucky everybody dies one day. Lucky tells her not to say that.
Cut to Pen Girl, then cut to Lucky, who spins the chamber of his revolver and places it under his chin.
But he doesn't kill himself.
Because someone's knocking on the door. Oh wait. Knocked. It's earlier that day. (I can't wait to edit this for temporal consistency.)
Speaking of Mickey’s Fine Malt Liquor, it's interesting all the work the film is asking us to go through with it here, flying around in time and space, flinging dick pens, introducing random characters, to see up the "will he or won't he" suicide moment. But this is a flashback. We know Lucky doesn't kill himself here. So there's no way to create tension in this scene, with or without Freud's psychosexual stages. In my experience, that's a trick only Jacob's Ladder managed to pull off.
So, no, Lucky does not kill himself and gets up to ensure he doesn't need to sign for delivery.
His door has one of the those castle-like facial-trap door things you can open. And open it he does, so much so that our POV flies OUT OF THE HOUSE and behind the bald gentleman standing there, giving us a shot of the tattoo on the back of his head, before ripping us back inside over Lucky's shoulder.
It's Psycho! But I didn't recognize him until Lucky said so. Psycho looks different. The day has been rough on all these guys I guess. Then Sniper(?) peeks his head in the way. Then Smiley(?). I feel bad for guessing it's these guys, but if I can't be fully sure who anyone except Pen Girl is, then it’s movie's fault not mine.
These guys are after Lucky's brother. Lucky tries to cover for him, but Sniper isn't having it and kicks in the door.
Psycho and Sniper attack Lucky and, you know what, the little fight scene that unfolds here isn't too bad. Right out of the gate, Pyscho gets kicked up, down, and through a coffee table. We're cutting/chopping through the action here, sure, but it isn't all that bad.
Lucky may have gotten a good shot in with Psycho, but Sniper out-boxes him, knocking him to the floor in time for Smiley to pop out of the back room with Lucky's brother.
While Lucky's brother gets pistol whipped onto the ground by Smiley, Lucky manages to take Sniper down with a reverse knife hand to the throat. Ouch.
But Psycho's already de-tabled himself and knocks Lucky onto his back, where he finds his revolver. (Oh yeah. Lucky had placed that in the back of his pants when he originally approached the door. Sorry gang. This movie is wearing me down ...)
Lucky shifts his aim to Smiley, while Smiley keeps his pistol trained on Lucky's brother. This decent little fight scene ends in a bit of a standoff. Tarantino.
While Lucky and Smiley exchange some bon mots about who has how many bullets in which gun and how lucky we might feel about what we do or don't know, Sniper steps into frame, looming over Lucky. Then we cut to a tight close-up of Smiley's face. He's wearing sunglasses, but we can make out an LA tattoo on his cheek. Either that carries some significance I don't know about, or this was shown previously and I missed it.
Man ... IS this Smiley and Sniper? I don't know. And I don't know if it matters as Lucky says he'll ride for his brother.
Maybe Smiley asks what Lucky knows about getting dirty. That means doing bad things. And Lucky is willing to do bad things to keep his brother from getting hurt. Oh! Or perhaps because he knows this mission is suicide, and he's looking to take a bullet, it might as well be one headed for a member of his family. That's not true. But it sure wrote nice.
Might As Well Be Smiley tells Lucky if he drives for them, he's on a very short leash. No screw-ups. Little do they we know what we know will happen in a couple hours here. Which we cut back to after the soundtrack crunks up to 11.
And ... shit ... we're back in the Forever Car.
CUTS! COPTERS! CROOKS!
Inside the car. Outside the car. "Shots fired ..." we hear. When? Back when the bank was originally robbed? I find myself hoping we've returned no sooner in this chase than the spot we left for Lucky's flashbacking.
Now percussive music is playing over the chase. Was it before? (Hell yes, it was crunked to 11, remember? Ed.) I can't remember, for I was a different man eight minutes and two healthy pours of wine ago ...
Two cops are still right on their bottoms ... but Psycho seems to be in good spirits as he loads some ammunition into a clip. And hey! Sniper looks pretty happy too. We ARE all on the same team here fellas.
The men decide to ruin the good mood by arguing about how much money they've gotten away with. During the course of this argument, we learn Psycho did, in fact, shoot a bank teller in the face back in the bank. Lucky isn't happy about the shooting, but it's Sniper, not Psycho, who was unhappy with how she was looking at him and stuff, justifying the putting of a hole in her head.
Smiley laughs, wondering if Sniper's a fan of the western genre.
Good thing he asked!
Because while Sniper inquires as to whether he appears to be the sort of guy who would enjoy watching westerns (why not, Sniper?) this allows Smiley to smile, and remind everyone in the car that the western genre contains many wonderful examples of how killers can be killers and still do the right thing.
To his credit, Sniper seems to take this in for a moment. He's not sure what he thinks, but he knows enough to know he isn't going to end up like the "red shirt" on Star Trek. Cool to know Sniper does at least dig science fiction. He explains what he means to the rest of the car just in case they don’t. Tarantino.
I think the movie is trying to create a moment here. Once he's done explaining why it's less than ideal to be a red shirt, Sniper reaffirms that's certainly not how he's going down.
He then points a rifle out of the window and shoots a helicopter.
And that's 10.
