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Formula 51 2002 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Ronny Yu
R, 93 min. (strong violence, language, drug content, sexuality) |
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Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer, Meatloaf, Sean Pertwee, Rhys Ifans
Producers: Jonathan Debin, Andras Homori, Malcolm Kohll, Seaton McLean, David Pupkewitz
Screenplay: Stel Pavlou
Cinematography: Hang-Sang Poon
Distributor: Screen Gems
Released: 10.18.02 (Wide) |
Rating:
 (out of ) |
While I've read that other critics label Formula 51 a "guilty pleasure," I found the film anything but pleasurable. Instead,
the film is nothing more than a tired retread of other violent action/comedy pictures such as Pulp Fiction or the recent
Snatch. The difference is that Formula 51 is poorly written and lazily directed, an effort that could easily pass for a TV-movie
on drugs. And drugs are at the center of this film, albeit in the form of a new "superdrug" capable of delivering 51 times the punch of
your average dose of cocaine or ecstasy. The provider - outlaw chemist Samuel L. Jackson, donning a kelt and toting a
bag of golf clubs. It's your usual underworld trip to England, where numerous low-lifes and an assassin show up to
spoil the party.
Elmo McElroy (Jackson) is in England to make $20 million by providing the formula to his new wonderdrug. The list of
potential buyers jockey for position as Elmo and his sidekick of the moment, Felix DeSouza (Robert Carlyle), evade the
numerous bullets and set-ups all around them. Things get interesting when Felix's ex-girlfriend, Dakota (Emily Mortimer), an
assassin, is hired to protect Elmo until her boss, The Lizard (Meatloaf), arrives in Liverpool to make the deal himself.
The kicker - The Lizard is Elmo's old boss who he tried to blow up a few weeks earlier.
Much like Trainspotting or Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, Formula 51 dabbles with gritty
locations in England as each successive scene stockpiles the body count and spins a tighter web of deceit and double crosses.
Unfortunately, this film is completely unaware of how to successfully build characters and action in dual fashion instead of
merely throwing out each without a thought to how it affects each segment of storybuilding. Although there are some
humorous scenes to be sure, director Ronny Yu quickly ruins them with senseless violence at awkward times - things just
don't quite mesh. One moment we're admiring a master chemist at work, the next repulsed by difficult to recognize
body parts.
The film's highlight is clearly Emily Mortimer, a beautiful assassin with a sense of fortitude and confidence that other
characters here lack. She's accurate, deadly, but also tender in the right situation. The scenes between her and
Jackson are interesting because we sense two characters that understand and respect each other without having to say
it - note their quick negotiation while one holds the life of another dangling from the side of a tall building. Had Formula 51
populated its cast with more of these type of characters, it might have had something. As it is, it's a by-the-numbers
dud.
© 2002 Jonathan Cornwell
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 |
 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
 | Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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