Focus Movie Review (Spoiler Free)

A con game tangled in its own tricks, slick but empty at its core. Will Smith puts on his usual stone face. In the end, it leaves us pondering: who’s really playing who?

Genre: Crime / Drama / Romance

Director: Glenn Ficarra & John Requa

Cast: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro, Gerald McRaney, Adrian Martinez, B.D. Wong, Brennan Brown, Griff Furst, Juan Minujín & Robert Taylor.

Run Time: 105 min.

US Release: 27 February 2015

UK Release: 27 February 2015

German Release: 05 March 2015

Focus, released on March fifth in Germany, is a romantic comedy-drama about two con artists, featuring Will Smith and Margot Robbie as the lead actors. Is this Will Smith’s comeback as an A Lister? No, it isn’t, but it is the first Smith movie (excluding MIB 3) where he doesn’t star alongside his son, and that is a welcome change.

This film is more of a love story than it is a true crime drama, and if you were expecting it to have a deeper message and complex narrative, you will surely be disappointed. What it manages to do, though, is amuse you throughout its length while keeping you in the dark about its unfolding. Despite this, what disappointed me most was that it fell short of what it advertised. There was no real conning, just thieving, pick-pocketing and gambling. The Ocean Eleven-like premise it promised was never fully served, but rather displayed as a side dish to its main romantic plot.

Despite its slow start and simple story, the movie is quite entertaining, especially the first half, which takes place in New Orleans, and is funny, setting up an intrigue. What impressed most was the surprising twists this movie brought with it. Every time I was sure the movie would go down a specific path, it proved me wrong. That said, most of the revelations displayed, I found to be way too cliché, while the amount of twists thrown in one's face during the end became simply tiring.

Overall, the plot isn’t really that mind-boggling, following one simple formula: boy meets girl, boy loses girl and tries to win her back. What sets it apart from other movies with the same recipe is its original structure for storytelling, as it doesn’t follow standard movie rules. It is interesting, though also a little off-putting at the same time. Nevertheless, I do applaud the directors and writers Glenn Ficarra and John Requa for deciding to go a different path.

The only big concern with the plot is the big time jump at the mid-point of the film. It threw me completely off, and it took time to re-focus, to get back into the plot. This is partially due to the reason that the second part feels like a different story altogether.

A real plus this movie has is the chemistry between Will Smith and Margot Robbie, portraying con artists Nicky Spurgeon and Jess. They worked really well together, and they truly sold their feelings for each other, yet at the same time, they had issues with trusting one another. Margot Robbie really surprised me as a newcomer in her lead role; she doesn’t give a groundbreaking performance, but she does a decent job with her role. In fact, I found her to be better than her counterpart.

Will Smith is the big disappointment in this picture! It sure isn’t his worst acting gig, but he could have given his character much more than what he displayed. I am not certain if it is a general lack of motivation to be in movies or if he had other concerns in mind, but for a movie called Focus, he sure wasn’t concentrated on the job. Audiences are able to see it in his facial expression, as he always looks to be absent-minded, not having his head in the game.

Rodrigo Santoro plays the villain, Rafael Garriga. A one-dimensional billionaire, owning a formula racing team, who employs Nicky to play his biggest contestant, the Australian McEwen. The development of this character only served the purpose of the flick’s outcome and has as much depth as a puddle of water.

In contrast, Garriga’s associate, Owens (Gerald McRaney), is a ruthless and cynical man, with many more layers to his persona than his boss. Adrian Martinez is another delightful addition to the cast. I found the crass humour he added to some serious moments quite amusing and entertaining. Unfortunately, the origin of his character, Farhad (an overweight Persian), should have been rewritten for him.

The musical score is well chosen, with every song in the movie serving a specific purpose. The inclusion of the Rolling Stones’ Sympathy for the Devil is a genius. Still, and I am not sure if this was the film’s sound mixing or if the cinema was to blame, but it was really hard following the conversations at times, as the music or background sound effects managed to drown them all out.

The camera work was good; I liked the angles used for certain shots. One example, by the end of the film, we follow an unknown man driving in his car, who is involved in an accident. The camera position used for that shot, leading up to the crash, was masterful. Lighting was good most of the time, but there are one or two scenes in the dark, where it could have been better lit.

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Verdict: Overall, Focus was a mediocre, entertaining experience, with a few more cons than pros. It is one of the better romantic movies I have seen, with an interesting plot. Yet, unfortunately, it did not turn out to be the movie that it was advertised to be. I couldn’t help but feel conned by the producers and makers of this picture when I was leaving the theatre. I will therefore give this movie a rating of 5.5 out of 10.

So what did you think about Focus? Did you like it, or have you been disappointed by it?