Give 'em Hell Malone Review

After the murder of his family a private dick turned gun-for-hire is the centre of attention for a cacophony of violence in this overtly violent throwback to the golden age of gangster and noir flicks.

Malone, a grizzled, alcoholic, wisecracking anti-hero is hired to retrieve a briefcase containing ‘the meaning of love’ (its ambiguous content seemingly a clear nod to Pulp Fiction). On his tail are hired goons Boulder and Matchstick, sent by crime boss Whitmore. In tow are inscrutable heroine Evelyn and Malone’s mother. There are also run-ins with a wacky crooner and a Chinese girl who bites people’s members off called ‘Mauler’. Let me be plain: Give ‘em Hell Malone is clichéd tripe. Reasonably well-made and sporadically amusing clichéd tripe, but clichéd tripe nonetheless. I can only assume that the gratuitous noir-gangster tropes are employed with tongue not so much in cheek, as become one with it.

Unfortunately, if that’s what they were going for, then the tone seems off; the film appears to take itself way too seriously. I mean, paying tribute to the gangster genre is one thing, but this film simply apes it. Seriously – could writer Mark Hosack not think of a less obvious name than ‘Malone’ for the lead in a gangster film? On the bright side, Thomas Jane (of Deep Blue Sea, The Mist and memorable Arrested Development cameo) is quite likable as the protagonist. Ving Rhames is also pretty good and gets all the best lines as Boulder and Third Rock from the Sun’s French Stewart turns up as Frankie the Crooner, a reasonably funny role.

The third act set-piece in the theatre, though somewhat adjunct from the main narrative (how and why did they get to an abandoned theatre?), is also well put together and quite enjoyably trippy. The camerawork throughout is also quite impressive. Other than that though, the film is no great shakes. The script is hackneyed and aims for witty irreverence but more often than not, misses badly. The other actors ham up their performances unnecessarily; Doug (Horace from Lost) Hutchinson’s channelling of Heath Ledger’s Joker in his role as psychotic pyromaniac Matchstick is particularly distracting, as is Elsa Pataky’s pan-European accent.

If we’re being generous, there are far worse films out there than Give ‘em Hell Malone and although its ending is bizarrely convoluted, I can imagine the franchise may improve in the promised sequel (it is, apparently, ‘to be continued’). Clearly the cast had a great deal of fun making the film and, if it’s a Friday night rental, you could have a great time watching it, providing you don’t take it too seriously, set your standards low and, as its protagonist would probably attest, you keep the scotch flowing.

http://www.blogomatic3000.com/2010/06/01/dvd-review-give-em-hell-malone/