Gosh, the self-appointed critics sure got together to attack this one. However, an unbiased eye would have realized that it has quite a few good points. True, a lot of things could have been done better, and a surer hand probably would have seen to that. Guyy Pearce might be mistakenly criticized for walking through role. Not true - his style was totally motivated and definitively handled.
Pearce - for whatever reason he decided to do a B-movie - brought a lot of credibility to the project. Pearce's career is at a point where he doesn't have to do anything he doesn't want to do, so he must have had some personal reason for signing on. And he had to have known that his coworkers were less than the seasoned pros he was used to.
Devon Sawa - capable but unremarkable in his beginnings as a child actor - is excellent as the chief bad guy. He deftly avoided all the pitfalls of villain cliches as well as overacting. He proved to be an worthy nemesis for Pearce.
Barbie Blank - Pearce's love interest - sort of - is a WWE star, and the role took good advantage of her skills. As an actress, she was handed a very one-dimensional role, which she handled accordingly.
Most of the rest of the cast are experienced actors - albeit nothing outstanding, and by and large they acquitted themselves well (with a few very notable, glaring exceptions).
The problems began with the script, which, although full of potential, failed to overcome its weak points in production.. The flow of the plot - which could have been all too familiar and all too trite - managed to avoid the screamingly ordinary. While there are only so many ways to handle the details of the plot - all of which have been filmed a lot in the past, this movie handled them fairly well. The "clunky" moments - and there a lot of them - are more a problem of staging and/or direction.
Director. Shackleton was handling his ninth and most recent stint in the director's chair. I'm not familiar with his earlier work. But it doesn't seem to have thoroughly prepared him for what is essentially an action film. The pacing - which is unnecessarily leisurely most of the time - doesn't lend itself to being corrected in post.
All in all, this film is definitely not the waste of time that multiple imdb critics would have us believe. Pearce is quoted as describing the film as "abysmal". He would be greatly responsible for that if it were true, which it is not. Perhaps his reaction has been taken out of context, because he had to have known what he was getting into.
Shackleton's next project is in preproduction for which he is also listed as a producer. Normally, I would say that being both producer and director may not be the best decision. However, "Disturbing the Peace" has a producer list that went on for miles; and Shackleton wasn't one of them. Perhaps, he should have been.
Pearce - for whatever reason he decided to do a B-movie - brought a lot of credibility to the project. Pearce's career is at a point where he doesn't have to do anything he doesn't want to do, so he must have had some personal reason for signing on. And he had to have known that his coworkers were less than the seasoned pros he was used to.
Devon Sawa - capable but unremarkable in his beginnings as a child actor - is excellent as the chief bad guy. He deftly avoided all the pitfalls of villain cliches as well as overacting. He proved to be an worthy nemesis for Pearce.
Barbie Blank - Pearce's love interest - sort of - is a WWE star, and the role took good advantage of her skills. As an actress, she was handed a very one-dimensional role, which she handled accordingly.
Most of the rest of the cast are experienced actors - albeit nothing outstanding, and by and large they acquitted themselves well (with a few very notable, glaring exceptions).
The problems began with the script, which, although full of potential, failed to overcome its weak points in production.. The flow of the plot - which could have been all too familiar and all too trite - managed to avoid the screamingly ordinary. While there are only so many ways to handle the details of the plot - all of which have been filmed a lot in the past, this movie handled them fairly well. The "clunky" moments - and there a lot of them - are more a problem of staging and/or direction.
Director. Shackleton was handling his ninth and most recent stint in the director's chair. I'm not familiar with his earlier work. But it doesn't seem to have thoroughly prepared him for what is essentially an action film. The pacing - which is unnecessarily leisurely most of the time - doesn't lend itself to being corrected in post.
All in all, this film is definitely not the waste of time that multiple imdb critics would have us believe. Pearce is quoted as describing the film as "abysmal". He would be greatly responsible for that if it were true, which it is not. Perhaps his reaction has been taken out of context, because he had to have known what he was getting into.
Shackleton's next project is in preproduction for which he is also listed as a producer. Normally, I would say that being both producer and director may not be the best decision. However, "Disturbing the Peace" has a producer list that went on for miles; and Shackleton wasn't one of them. Perhaps, he should have been.