Domino (Widescreen New Line Platinum Series)

When I first saw `Domino' I was in love. I must admit that I adore Tony Scott's directing style. I remember when I first saw `Man on Fire', I was just blown away by the way Scott could capture your attention so effortlessly. I am a huge fan of his brother Ridley (one of our finest working directors) and while I feel Ridley is the finer director, Tony is working his way up their on his own terms. So to get back to my initial statement, when I first saw `Domino' I was smitten, or in love, whatever I said at first. Upon repeated viewings though, I have found that the film, while fun and explosive and utterly irresistible, is not without flaws; quite a few to be honest.

`Domino' tells the fictionalized story of real life bounty hunter Domino Harvey. Former model and daughter of a famous actor, Domino lived a life of prestige and glamour but she desired something a little more gritty. She resented her money and prominence and wanted to escape it as quickly as possible. When by chance she received an opportunity to do so, she took it, and thus joined bounty hunters Ed and Choco.

Quite possibly the only part of this movie that is true is the fact that Domino Harvey was a real person. More of the story could be based on actual events (I use the word `could' strongly here) but it really doesn't matter much. Whether it's true or not is not the issue. Even the film itself tells you before it begins that this is `sort of' the truth, and we as the audience can appreciate that. This is a way for Scott to pay homage to a friend and he does so with guts and bravado. There is no denying that `Domino' is an exciting visual feast and delivers a good time.

There is a problem though with the manic style in which Scott tells this story. It may not be true, but it should still at least be understandable, and while I'm not saying that the story is impossible to `get' I am saying that it takes a lot out of you to follow it coherently. The film is all over place in most parts, jumping time frames, repeating itself, stuttering, changing direction, jumping back, shifting focus; delivering large amounts of information at once and then going back and changing its mind on us. If you focus your attention you'll get it, but if you are not one who is used to having to really pay close attention you'll find yourself lost, and once you're lost you won't be able to find your way back. `Man on Fire' is a little more controlled, a film that uses the visual flare Tony Scott is known for but with restraint so as not to take away from the impact of the film.

To quote Mena Suvari's character; this film "has the attention span of a ferret on crystal meth."

The plot development is a little overly complicated at times, so much so that it causes me to question Scott's decision to simplify Domino's initiation into the world of bounty hunting. He takes a lot of time to develop this twisted and intricate DMV scam but skimps on showing us how Domino became the bounty hunter that she was (I highly doubt it was as easy as the film makes it seem).

A major highlight to the film though is the acting on the part of the entire cast. Keira Knightley and Mickey Rourke had a great year in 2005. They both gave award winning performances (Knightley in `Pride and Prejudice' and Rourke in `Sin City'), and Knightley even went on to garner an Oscar nomination. Here they excel at playing the character they are given. Knightley gives Harvey heart, and she manages to engage the audience and get us invested in her. Rourke creates a father figure for Domino, but never waters him down. He's still rough and gruff and extreme. Edgar Ramirez does a great job as Choco, the bounty hunter after Domino's heart, and Delroy Lindo is his usual fantastic self as Claremont, Domino's boss. The cast is extensive and serves us memorable performances by everyone from Mo'Nique (her Jerry Springer scene alone is unforgettable) to 90210 stars Ziering and Green (who do a stand up job of digging into their own celebrity).

True, `Domino' could have been a little cleaner, but then again, maybe that would have taken away from the impact Scott was going for. I would have liked to have seen Scott use a little more restraint with his style and delivered something a little more heavy hitting like `Man on Fire' (possibly his best film) and I would have liked to have seem a little more though gone into fleshing out these characters a little morel; but in the end I can't really complain too much. `Domino' is fun and exciting and engaging and serves up a deliciously violent good time. It's not perfect, but no one asked it to be.

This movie doesn't do it for me. The main problem is that too many genres are involved in this DVD. At times it seems like the producers are trying to mix action, thriller, and gangster movie scenes into this movie, which give the viewer the idea that this movie can't make up its mind about what it really wants to be! Also the story seemed to be too contrived for my taste, and was thus not convincing, especially with a female bounty hunter playing the protagonist.

This might be the last of the 90s style MTVed annoyance starring a bunch of people making pouty faces and looking at each other REEEAAAAALLLLY hard while sweating buckets of filth and grime. The camera speeds up, goes in slow motion, some Tom Waits in thrown in, there's some people tripping, some gore, camera flipping upside down, then this girl making pouty faces, cheesy 24 styled acting, just urm, a big dumb mess of a movie.

Sometimes this jittery 90s style works, like Sexy Beast or Natural Born Killers and sometimes you just end up with U-Turn or THIS. Oh whats her name stars as a girl who was a model and ends up a bounty hunter, but actually just stays a model, she keeps making this pouty/sexy look throughout the whole movie and its CHEESY, bad cheesy. Everytime she or one of her bounty hunters (roll your eyes if you will) does something its supposed to be OOH I SURE WOULD NOT WANT TO MESS WITH THESE FELLOWS but its just actors posing making faces like they just smelled a bad fart sandwiched inbetween cameras being tossed off buildings, pointless shot of a helicopter taking off but with little jump cuts in the middle for no reason at all just, well, yellow filters and this girl with a shotgun making pouty faces.

Its irritating, very irritating.

'Domino' is hard to categorize, it's said to be a bio and an action flick, but when you're watching it feels like a graphic novel come alive, like a video clip, and like a visual and auditory acid trip.

What gives if not all is 'realistic' and a 'portrayal of true events', if it's a fantastic, dazzling event that leaves you gasping for air? That would be like blaming Dali or Picasso for not painting a realistic picture... Rather silly, no?

The reason that opinions seem to be so divided is simple, 'Domino' is not for everyone. Traditionalists and lazy minds will hate it because they don't get it. Free Spirits and investigative minds however will most likely love it for the great ride it is.

Keira Knightley is superb as 'Domino', hard as nails, and sexier than ever. I loved to see Mickey Rourke as her Boss (Team Leader), what a great choice! Relative newcomer Edgar Ramirez is also well cast as the sexy, shy-ish 'latin lover'.

If you're open for a new experience 'Domino' will grab you and not let go. It's a post-modern masterpiece; the visual style is simply brilliant, and it's all supported by a hypnotizing soundtrack. What a Trip!

I have stumbled across this movie by accident and decided to watch it because of the stars featured in it: Keira Knightley, Mickey Rourke, Christopher Walken to name a few. It is a story of the young woman lost upon untimely death of her father. Craving love, acceptance and trying to make her own way in the real world, Domino opts to become a bounty hunter - the least likely place for a girl with her background. It is an ultimate rebellion effort towards her mother, people she is surrounded with day in and day out and her attempt for self-acceptance by acting out tough. I did not know that Ms. Domino Harvey has died of an overdose in 2005 until I researched her a bit more, after learning that movie is based on the real person and real events. This young lady definitely lived her life on her own terms - this world was just too small for her.