Dir. Baran bo Odar
Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)
“He knows the players, he knows their methods”
Dirty cops, stolen drugs and kidnapping are the order of the day for ‘Sleepless’ – a flashy but dim remake of the 2011 French thriller ‘Nuit Blanche / Sleepless Night’.
Meet Vincent Downs (Jamie ‘soon to be in Baby Driver’ Foxx) an estranged family man and tough Las Vegas cop, who's partner Sean Cass (T.I.) just might be crooked. When the duo are tipped off about a huge drug stash being moved they decide to steal the $8million package and get rich quickly.
"met his match?"
Cue violent death and recriminations as the cops take down the drug runners and assign themselves to the case in order to cover their tracks. Things just aren’t that easy though and get worse for Downs when it turns out the drugs he stole belong to dangerous crime family, the Novaks, who promptly kidnap his son Thomas (Octavius Johnson) and demand that he returns them for his son’s life.
Another complication is that Internal Affairs are sniffing around the pair – and the determined Jennifer Bryant (Michelle ‘Source Code’ Monaghan) wants to takes Downs erm, down after he lies to her. Also on the scene is Down’s nurse wife Dena (Gabrielle ‘Bad Boys 2’ Union) who thinks (rightly) that he’s not being straight about the whereabouts of their son…
"obligatory cool car"
As the night ticks on the tension ramps up and other players become involved including Casino boss Stanley Rubino (Dermot Mulroney), Bryant's partner, Doug Dennison (David Harbour) and the ruthless Robert Novak (Scott McNairy) who is liable to kill everyone to get his drugs.
Director Baran bo ‘The Silence’ Odar does an ok job with what feels a lot like a throwback to the fast moving 90s cop thrillers of Bruce Willis or Arnie. Alas there are some pretty massive plot holes and acts of stupid coincidence that undermine what would otherwise be a solid B movie.
"Did someone call for Bad Boys?"
The action kicks along nicely, the violence is pretty brutal and James Foxx holds it all together with a great lead performance. The cinematography is straight from the text book crime-em-up catalogue as used by films like Collateral or Run All Night, everything works well and but Sleepless won’t be remembered as a classic.
For a fun, disposable dose of dirty cop thrills, Sleepless delivers an hour and half of cool looking action.
"rent a crim"
Out of a potential 5, you have to go with a Darkmatters:
öö1/2
(2.5 - Cops n thrills but nothing you'll remember for long...)
Awesomeness ööö – Occasionally delivers something cool
Laughs öö – Some fun but not much
Horror öö – Real threat and implied torture
Spiritual Enlightenment öö - Over your head is a bad place to be...
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