Marcus Goh is a former Singapore television scriptwriter. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. He Tweets/Instagrams at Optimarcus and writes at marcusgohmarcusgoh.com. The views expressed are his own.
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? No.
Should you watch this for free? No.
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 104 minutes (~ 2 hours)
“Focus” is a romantic comedy that also falls partially in the heist film genre. It centres around the exploits and relationship of a pair of con artists. It stars Will Smith (Nicky Spurgeon), Margot Robbie (Jess Barrett), and Adrian Martinez (Farhad).
“Focus” is one of those movies that have you wondering why it was made in the first place. It doesn’t provide you with any fresh insights, it tells a dull and slow story, and it only serves to make its leads look like flawless deities. You might as well spend your time watching a fashion show – at least you’d have a better chance of watching something realistic there.
Highlights
Well-polished visuals
The moving pictures are slick and the actors never have a hair out of place. They are always immaculately dressed and perfectly groomed – even to the point of wearing waterproof mascara to allow them to cry beautifully on screen. The sets are shiny and all props are wonderfully positioned. Any still from the film is a picture perfect moment.
Letdowns
Predictable plot
Perhaps it’s the overblown storytelling techniques, or the complete lack of subtlety in conveying and message, but the surprises and twists fall flat. The misleads are so over the top that you can see the true intent a mile away, and the overacting (whenever they need to pull of a con) just unintentionally telegraphs everything.
Margot Robbie provides horrible acting
Her face is perpetually in a broad smile that’s too wide to be natural. She provides no other expressions and it’s as if her face is permanently stuck in a Botox grin. Even her crying scenes have her mask her face with grieving hands – a stark indication of her inability to emote. Less cosmetic surgery and more theatre classes would have helped.
Nicky is an unbelievably plastic character
A thief with a heart of gold. That just about sums up his character – because there’s nothing else that’s interesting. He excels at anything he does, be it physical, mental, or emotional, making him completely unrelatable. It also eliminates any sense of danger or suspense because he’s simply too perfect to be stymied by any obstacle.
A corny romance
The love story is so tired and cliched you can hear it wheezing to its tepid conclusion right from Act One. There’s no chemistry between the actors, there’s no driving force that pulls the pair together, and there’s no tragic event that separates them. It wavers between being modern and being stereotypical, and ends up being a mess.
“Focus” is an absolute waste of time that attempts to be clever, edgy, and sophisticated, but fails spectacularly at any one of them. It is utterly, inexcusably, and undeniably pointless. If you’re a Will Smith fan, this one’s still passable. Everyone else should just stay away.
“Focus” opens in cinemas 26 February, 2015 (Thursday).
This review was also published on Yahoo Singapore.
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