Harmonica (Charles Bronson, Once Upon a Time in the West, 1968)
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Harmonica (Charles Bronson, Once Upon a Time in the West, 1968) |
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If you’re a major film buff one of the most heinous and sickening phrases you could possibly hear in the English language is “made for TV movie.” This almost dooms a film straight to the graveyard. Almost 99 percent of the time they are, to put it plainly, pieces of crap that serve no other purpose than to cater to the “is there anything good on TV” audience. People who generally don’t watch films seriously and just don’t find them their cup of tea, but if they have a couple of hours to kill will watch one. Well that or audiences that only are exposed to family friendly films that they can watch during an evening with their children. There is nothing wrong with that. I don’t like made for TV movies nor do I take them seriously, but hey if some people enjoy them that’s great. So when I flip through the channels and find one on that looks like it may actually be good, I’ll watch it. 44 Minutes was one of those movies, and is one of the better made for TV movies that you will find on television. FX, ala Fox gone cable is the channel responsible for producing 44 Minutes. The film is based on a true story of a Los Angeles bank robbery that occurred several years ago in 1997. However it was no ordinary bank robbery. One morning two men walked into the Bank of America in North Hollywood and started opening fire with their supped up AK-47’s while wearing heavy bullet proof Kevlar body armor. As soon as the robbery was in progress officers in the area were on the scene, but what can you do with 9 mm Berettas against one of the worlds most deadly assault rifles. The movie doesn’t feel like it was made for TV and FX made the wise decision of presenting it in a wide screen format. The violence level is up and it is a very gritty film considering everything. The action scenes are tight and well paced and the character development is far above average. Build up was excellent to the actual robbery as the movie starts out in the morning, following several officers are they prepare for their day at work. We also see the two bank robbers getting ready with a well done montage showing them strapping on armor, loading their guns and getting extra ammunition. Yes, while the minimalist editing for violence and style of the film make it fell like a studio released picture, another thing that really helps 44 Minutes is the narration. It is told in large blocks of flashbacks while the actors that play the officers describe what they were feeling as the event transpired. Now this may sound like it would interfere with the action and make the film feel choppy, but the opposite is true. The scenes are non-intrusive and are used sparingly at key points in the film where there would have already been a logical break in the action. Besides the flashbacks don’t really seem like flashbacks. A more logical description would be that they are quick cuts that send us forward after the event and then quickly back to the present and into the action. 44 Minutes also gets a boost from a decent cast including Mario Van Peebles, Ron Livingston (Office Space), and Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs). Don’t get me wrong, while I did enjoy 44 Minutes and it is definitely one of the better made of TV films out there, it still is confined to that medium. Personally I feel that it did its’ best with what it had to work with. Had this true story been sold and released under a major Hollywood studio with A-list stars instead of A-list character actors and without the television censorship it would have been a lot better. But like I said earlier, I don’t except much of these types of movies, but was pleasantly surprised to be entertained by this one. It takes itself seriously and also pays tribute to the brave men and women in blue who had to suffer through the ordeal with one arm tied behind their back. |
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