Down With The King

When a Quintet of Gun-Clapping Ne'er-do-wells decide to gaffle a Vegas casino, their point man -a sinister Elvis enthusiast played by Kevin Costner (Robin Hood)-decides to dress the crew up as the King himself and do the job during an Elvis Presley convention. 3000 Miles to Graceland
was pretty much universally panned by critics who (as usual) had no idea what they were talking about...

Anytime Kevin Costner plays a bad guy people reject it, which is a huge mistake. Moments in this film (and Mr Brooks, where he plays a smooth-as-ice schizo serial killer) are among my favorite ever from the veteran actor. 3,000 Miles came out in 2001, when people were still comparing every crime flick to Pulp Fiction, a comparison few flicks can survive.
The colorful cast, lead by Costner and partner-in-crime Kurt Russell (Tango and Cash, Big Trouble in Little China, Escape From New York), includes Bokeem Woodbine (Strapped, The Big Hit), Christian Slater (Heathers, Broken Arrow) and Courteny Cox (Friends)... everyone in the film did their part, large or small, to ensure that i'd enjoy this film. Like any good heist movie, the caper goes less than perfect. the crooks do skate with the loot, but one Elvis doesn't make it out of the casino, and after a heated arguement among outlaws, the real jux goes down.
3,000 Miles To Graceland is best consumed as if it was a comic, not a typical noir or crime story. the violence is highly stylized and the characters are more-or-less archetypical. the twists and turns in the plot are not quite elegant, but were pleasing to me anyways. under the hand of a comic artist like Jock, Eduardo Risso, or Chris Bachalo, this would make a damn fine comic. as it is, this is a very entertaining film, IF you watch it right!
holla!
-samax.
ghettoManga.com

5 comments:

Arkonbey said...

I'm going to have to check that out. Costner gets a bad rap. I mean, sure he made Waterworld, but Dustin Hoffman made Ishtar...

Samax said...

LOL!
i never saw waterworld, but i hear it was trash! you should watch mr. brooks, too! that mess is hard!

Arkonbey said...

Mr. Brooks is on my list, I heard it was pretty good.

The Guardian's on the list, too. But as an ex USCG aviator, I'm holding off, lest it either be stupid or so good it makes me miss it ;)

Brian said...

You are 100% correct sir. '3,000 Miles to Graceland' is highly entertaining. It's not supposed to be 'Schindler's List.'

Samax said...

word.
i have friends who can't enjoy anything unless they think it's the best thing ever made... so tragic!

the scene where Costner gets pulled over by the state trooper is CLASSIC MATERIAL!

Check this out!

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