Jason KingTOWER HEIST: A Review
December 18th 2011 04:45
:
Review by Guest Writer BEN MCHOLME
Category: Reviews
What to say about Tower Heist. If you have heard one thing about this film it is probably something about Eddie Murphy finally returning to his old comedic skill. After some truly woeful outings in films such as NORBIT he was due for a good film. Is Tower Heist it? Well for me it was close enough, but more on Eddie Murphy later. Tower Heist has a great cast each bringing something to the table, the storyline has enough suspense and drama to keep you interested but thankfully doesn't take itself too seriously. It is also important to remember when you turn off your phone at the door you must also turn off your sense of logic. To enjoy this film you must leave logic at the door, especially during the actually heist. Without giving too much away it would off made so much more sense to have a motorbike in the penthouse then a car! The film is OCEAN'S ELEVEN meets the OTHER GUYS. Due to Sydney traffic I admittedly missed the first five minutes or so, sorry Jase, so felt like I was playing catch up at the beginning of the film. It was slow to start but still enjoyable and just a way for the scene to be set and the characters introduced so you got to know them better then 2D characters. Your feelings are developed and your prejudices take shape. The real laughs for me came once Eddie Murphy became a central character.
Tower Heist is a light hearted good guys/bad guys robbery movie. You know who you want to win and you know who is bad and you have a feeling you know how it will end. It centres on Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) who is the manager of an exclusive high rise apartment in New York (real life Trump Tower). The penthouse is owned by Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) who is a seemingly friendly and innocent stock market millionaire. It is soon revealed that in fast Shaw is a suspected fraudulent and heartless person who has stolen and defrauded countless millions included all of the Tower worker's pensions.
Not knowing that Shaw is most likely a corrupt businessman Stiller had chosen to entrust the pensions to him and this causes some initial tension amongst the workers. When Stiller finally confronts Shaw to find out for himself whether the businessman is innocent or guilty he ends up damaging the priceless FERRARI LUSSO which is parked in the eccentric millionaire's lounge room. This results in Stiller and his two accidental accomplices getting fired to avoid criminal charges. After developing a friendly relationship with the attractive and "not by the books" special agent Claire Denham (Tea Leoni) Stiller finds some more information about Shaw's fraudulent dealings. He then begins to plan the heist of the apparent 20 million dollar safety net rumoured to be held somewhere in the penthouse apartment. He recruits the two other former employees; Enrique Devreaux and Charlie (Michael Pena and Casey Affleck). He also recruits former resident Mr Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick) and petty criminal Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy became one of my favourite comedians after his solo R rated stand up performances in RAW and DELIRIOUS (if you are over 18 and not easily offended these are must see!). To me he is Chris tucker without the annoyingly high pitched voice. Recently his film outings as the main character have been sub-par(besides Shrek) or only for kids. It was so good to see the trailers and hear that Murphy has returned to what he is best at, adult humour. Although this is classified "MA" so not as out there as his stand up I was still very impressed. Eddie Murphy's wit and deliverance is hilarious, think Beverly Hills Cop. No matter what scene, I found myself with a smile on my face. The scene where heist accomplice Odessa (Gabourey Sidibe) is showing him how to get into a safe is one of my favourites and was also entirely improvised.
Stiller once again is very funny and once again the exact same character just in a different role. Another stand out for me was Alan Alda (Shaw). He is the quietly evil businessmen who you hate. I say quietly because he is not outwardly aggressive or violent, he remains calm only resorting to metaphor and allusion to threaten Stiller, this helps keep his facade of innocence. It is his passive aggressive and sneaky manipulation that makes him more evil then someone obviously frauding millions of dollars. Although it is fairly obvious, due to the nature of the movie, that he is guilty there was still a part of me thinking "maybe he is innocent".
Mathew Broderick plays a great supporting role and was to me the juxtaposition of Shaw. Where, Shaw, instead of facing his losses and copping it on the chin decided to steal, fraud and embezzle to stay ahead in life Broderick was forced out of his home due to stock market losses and defaulting on debts. He loses his family and his career but takes it as well as anyone could in the circumstance. Another stand out funny man was Michael Pena. When he buys the ski hats instead of ski masks because "the guy at the shop said they were warmer" I couldn't stop laughing.
If you are in need of a light hearted action comedy that will keep you happily in your seat with a smile on your face and you also have the ability to keep disbelief in the back of your mind this is your movie. It is worth seeing in the cinema atmosphere on the big screen. With an all-star cast and a back to form Eddie Murphy I give Tower Heist a 7/10. It is in cinemas Boxing Day.
Tower Heist is a light hearted good guys/bad guys robbery movie. You know who you want to win and you know who is bad and you have a feeling you know how it will end. It centres on Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) who is the manager of an exclusive high rise apartment in New York (real life Trump Tower). The penthouse is owned by Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) who is a seemingly friendly and innocent stock market millionaire. It is soon revealed that in fast Shaw is a suspected fraudulent and heartless person who has stolen and defrauded countless millions included all of the Tower worker's pensions.
Not knowing that Shaw is most likely a corrupt businessman Stiller had chosen to entrust the pensions to him and this causes some initial tension amongst the workers. When Stiller finally confronts Shaw to find out for himself whether the businessman is innocent or guilty he ends up damaging the priceless FERRARI LUSSO which is parked in the eccentric millionaire's lounge room. This results in Stiller and his two accidental accomplices getting fired to avoid criminal charges. After developing a friendly relationship with the attractive and "not by the books" special agent Claire Denham (Tea Leoni) Stiller finds some more information about Shaw's fraudulent dealings. He then begins to plan the heist of the apparent 20 million dollar safety net rumoured to be held somewhere in the penthouse apartment. He recruits the two other former employees; Enrique Devreaux and Charlie (Michael Pena and Casey Affleck). He also recruits former resident Mr Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick) and petty criminal Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy became one of my favourite comedians after his solo R rated stand up performances in RAW and DELIRIOUS (if you are over 18 and not easily offended these are must see!). To me he is Chris tucker without the annoyingly high pitched voice. Recently his film outings as the main character have been sub-par(besides Shrek) or only for kids. It was so good to see the trailers and hear that Murphy has returned to what he is best at, adult humour. Although this is classified "MA" so not as out there as his stand up I was still very impressed. Eddie Murphy's wit and deliverance is hilarious, think Beverly Hills Cop. No matter what scene, I found myself with a smile on my face. The scene where heist accomplice Odessa (Gabourey Sidibe) is showing him how to get into a safe is one of my favourites and was also entirely improvised.
Stiller once again is very funny and once again the exact same character just in a different role. Another stand out for me was Alan Alda (Shaw). He is the quietly evil businessmen who you hate. I say quietly because he is not outwardly aggressive or violent, he remains calm only resorting to metaphor and allusion to threaten Stiller, this helps keep his facade of innocence. It is his passive aggressive and sneaky manipulation that makes him more evil then someone obviously frauding millions of dollars. Although it is fairly obvious, due to the nature of the movie, that he is guilty there was still a part of me thinking "maybe he is innocent".
Mathew Broderick plays a great supporting role and was to me the juxtaposition of Shaw. Where, Shaw, instead of facing his losses and copping it on the chin decided to steal, fraud and embezzle to stay ahead in life Broderick was forced out of his home due to stock market losses and defaulting on debts. He loses his family and his career but takes it as well as anyone could in the circumstance. Another stand out funny man was Michael Pena. When he buys the ski hats instead of ski masks because "the guy at the shop said they were warmer" I couldn't stop laughing.
If you are in need of a light hearted action comedy that will keep you happily in your seat with a smile on your face and you also have the ability to keep disbelief in the back of your mind this is your movie. It is worth seeing in the cinema atmosphere on the big screen. With an all-star cast and a back to form Eddie Murphy I give Tower Heist a 7/10. It is in cinemas Boxing Day.
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