However, it doesn't work out according to plan,
leaving him, as Bobby, in the hands of Huertero, who plans to kill him.
Kearney makes his escape, aided by Elizabeth (Wilde,
Turistas), a former lover of Bobby's in Huertero's care, and Kit (Villareal,
Akeelah and the Bee), a boy who is rumored to be Bobby's illegitimate son.
Now he has everyone on his tail: the DEA, Huertero's men, and a group of
ruffian biker gang members who want revenge for Kearney's deeds while in
prison.
Although the plot is essentially nonsensical (why train Kearney in how to
look, act, talk, and know every intimate detail of Bobby Z if you're planning on killing him right away?), The Death and
Life of Bobby Z isn't the sort of film that's going to let a little thing
like logic get in the way of an action-packed good time. As is typical
for a John Herzfeld (2 Days in the Valley,
Two of a Kind) thriller, the emphasis is more on colorful
characterizations, plenty of violent confrontations, and a high degree of
quirky energy, cohesive storyline be damned. Your enjoyment of the film
will primarily depend on what sort of entertainment you're looking for going in, as it
delivers plenty for action junkies, and a decent amount of sex and violence,
but somewhere along the line, Don Winslow's original book gets lost in place
of the more sensational side of things.
There's an interesting assortment of characters, although fairly typical for a
film like this. Essentially it follows along the lines of your average
"man in deep cover" thrillers (Walker has made quite a few now(The
Fast and the Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious,
Running Scared), with the protagonist
always in mortal jeopardy, dammed if he gets caught, yet damned if he strays
away. It's a bit difficult to believe that Kearney isn't more readily
identifiable by others, but if you can swallow that Bobby Z is mostly a legend
(or urban myth), perhaps you can also swallow that a man as obsessed with
Bobby Z for years wouldn't have seen a single picture of him. Elizabeth,
a former lover of Bobby's, forms a physical connection with Kearney, but
doesn't reveal she knows until later, although it does call into question why
she doesn't dig deeper into his past and motivation during their time
together. The strangest connection that is formed is between Kearney and
Bobby's would-be son, Kit, which features many lingering stares between the
two. It's easy to understand how the visage of his long-lost father
would leave a young boy transfixed and want to know more, but Kearney returns
the same lingering glances -- it's a little creepy from that perspective,
since it isn't his own son, and he doesn't know it is Bobby's until sometime
later.
If there's anything that doesn't linger, it's Herzfeld's direction, which
jumps from character to character, locale to locale, trimming everything down
to the bare essentials from a plot standpoint to bring forth more scenes of
action, stunts, and menacing villainy. While he makes it exciting
visually, the conversations between any two characters is abbreviated and
mostly inconsequential, as if Herzfeld were bored by needless chatter, plowing
through the minimal dialogue as if any "downtime" would lose audience interest
and action momentum. The fighting is definitely the film's main
draw, choreographed by Mike Gunther,
who did equally impressive work for such action films as
Catwoman and Elektra,
with input from former UFC champion Pat Miletich. There are many deaths
throughout, mostly made to look "cool", but none of them leave you with any
feeling, as all of the characters are painted with broad strokes and
stereotypes. Even one torture scene (shown off screen) is framed to look
sexier than would be believable from a real-life perspective. It's a
superficial film that keeps everything on a kiddie-pool deep, eye candy level
throughout.
For all of the criticism I've thrown at Paul Walker for his limited acting
ability, he seems to have come into his own in action movies. He does
exude that California surfer look and is built well enough to look like he is
a tough guy in a fight. The demanding choreography of Bobby Z caters
well to Walker's physical attributes, and considering the lifestyle of the
dregs of humanity he is rubbing elbows with in the film, as well as the fact
that he is supposed to be unsure of what's going on throughout, the limited
nature of the role keeps the need for a great performance in check. Fishburne
is, arguably, the best actor of the bunch, but he isn't on screen most of the
time, and his role is more of a throwaway in his career. If it wasn't
for a paycheck, my guess his interest in the film primarily resides in his
desire to be in every film he can with "Bobby" in the title (Bobby
and Searching for Bobby Fischer
are his others).
The Death and Life of Bobby Z is one of those borderline calls, as it
does work much better as a standard action movie, with some nifty stunts and
exciting hand-to-hand fighting, beefed up though the casting of UFC pros like
Chuck Liddell and Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia. However, I'm going to have
to hedge a recommendation, as the thriller elements, which constitute the bulk
of the running time, are average at best, and at worst, a real test of one's
ability to suspend disbelief (again, that whole "training to be Bobby Z for no
apparent reason except for story convenience" portion is a plot contrivance
too ludicrous to ignore). If you like Paul Walker, or just
exciting action without intricate plotting to get in the way of your popcorn
movie, it's worth a look, but it definitely could have been much better
developed from a script standpoint. Depending on the country, it's being
released as the book's name of The Death and Life of Bobby Z, or
the less ponderous, Let's Kill Bobby Z, but the way it plays in terms
of playful tone and visual style, another fitting title could rightfully be
Get Shorty for Dummies.
