Customer Rating:
Summary: One of Nolte’s Best
Comment: This flick is really one of his best. Most of the other actors are virtually unknown in the U.S., which is too bad because they really do a great job. Ralph Finnes has a tiny, but intense part in this that helps make it a really tense and sexy heist movie. It’s kind of in the same vein as Ronin. It’s also a lot of fun.

Carlo, released in 2002, is a movie that is perhaps of special

interest to criminologists, as it covers a number of aspects that

are widely reported in the media, as scourges of society. It also

associates the weaknesses of the film’s protagonists to the profit,

glamor, class and prestige of a casino, thus making viewers reflect

on how there’s always someone, somewhere, raking it in from another

human’s failings – not exactly a brother’s keeper, is it?

Here, there’s tales of heroin abuse in the character played

tastefully by Nutsa Kukhianidze, whose youth and innocence in this

picture are a true complement to Nolte’s older “tortured mind and

soul” presence; in this manner, there’s a chemistry between the pair

that is charismatic. Also, the movie has a small part for a role of

a transgendered weight lifter, perhaps to throw a curve ball to the

audience. There’s also prominence given to gambling addiction, as

one would expect, from the plot, involving a casino for which Monte

Carlo is well known. There’s the traffic of high value paintings, in

this case, Picasso and otherwise, and a mastermind plan from Nolte’s

character to take possession of millions.

The filming spot adds value to the story, as the camera shows the

coutryside and also “in loco” filming in the city itself,

underlining its many glamourous and luxurious aspects, as its more

common aspects. The casino sequences, I find were done even better

than in 007′s Casino Royale. The action is never slow …time moves

rapidly over 90 mins, and the suspense is always present. Overall,

the GOOD THIEF’s special effects, music, and more is well delivered,

and the story entertaining.

I wouldn’t suggest this movie is intended for the patrons of Monte

Carlo, obviousl. I don’t know exactly why the “Algerian” aspect is

combined into it, unless, the story writer felt first generation

newcomers from the Magreb deserved being associated with some of

what goes on in the movie, perhaps. A fun movie, and the law

enforcement is always present, throughout, to remind viewers

of the consequences.

The box says Bob is quick-witted with a snazzy quote for any occasion. There is nothing to support this in the movie. We were promised a good, clever heist movie. We didn’t get it. The director spent more time showing the underworld scenery than the heist planning. Also, the computer camera transmitter used to case the joint would not have been able to penetrate the armored vault door, nor the thick stone walls. And another major plot point about spiders could have been resolved so easily that I found it actually offensive that they wasted time with it (how about wearing gloves, idiot).

It is sad that Nick Nolte has been reduced to this. Good actor in a bad, wannabe artsy flick. Horrid music choices acompany pointless transitional shots and effects. Frequently the dialog was so muttered and slurred that we had to replay the scene several times to find out what was said.

The movie seemed to constantly be losing track of what it was trying to accomplish and who the main character was. In the end, we’re left with a mess.

The only good thing I can say is that Nolte’s character is the rare male who won’t stand for hitting a woman under any circumstances. That’s the only “good” thing about him.

To compare this movie to Oceans 11 or The Thomas Crown Affair (even the remakes) or Casino is insulting to far superior works. Even double-or-nothing, this movie is not worth the gamble.