Get Carter

Get Carter (2000)

Director: Stephen Kay

Writers: Ted Lewis (novel), David McKenna (screenplay)

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Rachael Leigh Cook, Miranda Richardson, Rhona Mitra, Johnny Strong, John C. McGinley, Alan Cumming, Michael Caine, John Cassini, Mickey Rourke

Synopsis:

Vegas wiseguy Jack Carter (Stallone) returns home to Seattle for the funeral of his estranged brother, Richie, who died in an apparent car accident. After speaking with Richie's widow (Gloria) and his daughter Doreen (Leigh Cook), Jack believes that there was more to his brother's death than meets the eye. He soon learns that Richie's former employer Brumby (Caine), is linked to a porn and prostitution ring run by local lowlife Cyrus Pace (Rourke) and financed by software tycoon Jeremy Kinnear (Cumming) and that Richie was killed as a cover-up. To complicate matters, Jack's boss wants him to return to Vegas and sends his partner Con (McGinley) to bring him back. Violence ensues.

First Impressions:

I saw this film in theaters on its release. Upon first viewing, I'd say that I enjoyed it even though I'd never seen the original movie or read the novel. The film had that slick, early 2000s look, and it tried really hard to have a deeper story than your average action flick. However, the story never really stuck with me, and I had forgotten much of it over the past 20 years. I got the movie on DVD not long after, and I'd watch it every now and then, but it's been a long while since I've seen it. I say no time like the present, so let's jump right in.

Story/Direction:

"My name is Jack Carter, and you don't want to know me."

The film tries really hard to have a deep story, and it might have succeeded if it wasn't done in by the pacing. Unfortunately, the story moves along at breakneck speed, almost so fast that we barely have time to get to know the characters, their motivations or anything about them outside of the plot. We don't even really know why Jack and Richie are estranged, nor do we know why Jack's boss didn't want him to go to Seattle. The filmmakers tried to make the cover-up and underlying conspiracy the focus of the plot, but at a runtime of only 1 hour 42 minutes, it's difficult to flesh out a conspiracy if you're also trying to cram in some good action sequences. The result is a bit of a rushed mess, which is a shame because the bones for a really cool story were there. It's just that director Stephen Kay didn't give it any room to breathe. Either they needed to pad the runtime a bit, or they should have dumbed down the story to a more straightforward revenge tale. It would have served the film a lot better, I think.

Speaking of direction, I found Kay's style to be really distracting. He uses quick cuts, a common trope in that era that generally irks me. He also played with the frame rate of the film, speeding up in places that really didn't need it (i.e., a character walking down a hallway). He also uses techniques such as a skip forward in time showing the probable outcome of a tense situation but only uses them once, which really thrust me out of the story. Needless to say, Kay's directorial style didn't really gel with my preferences.

So, all in all, I was less than impressed with the film's story and how it was told. The pieces were there, but the filmmakers just didn't know how to put them together to create an enjoyable plot, and that's a damn shame. 

Acting/Characters:

Get Carter has a pretty good cast for a mid-tier, early-century action movie. Of course, Stallone is the "hero" of the film, and the role of Jack Carter is of a type that Sly does best in, the laconic tough guy. Jack says very little and communicates either with a glare or a fist in the face. It's not a role that won Stallone any award consideration, but it serves the story well, and Jack, in general, is a reasonably interesting character even though we don't know a lot about him. 

Being a remake, the filmmakers decided a neat homage to the original would be casting the earlier film's star, Michael Caine, in a prominent role. While Caine always turns in a solid performance, his character bugged me. Not because he was annoying or anything; it's just that Brumby really doesn't serve much of a purpose in the film except for the final twist at the end. So, the audience figures things out pretty early, which defeats the purpose of having a conspiracy-driven plot.

The rest of the roles were well-cast, with notable performances from Mickey Rourke, the scumbag porn operator Cyrus Pace; Rachael Leigh Cook, Jack's prototypical emo teenage niece Doreen; and John C. McGinley, who hams it up as Jack's twitchy partner Con. Another notable performance was Alan Cumming's turn as awkward software magnate Jeremy Kinnear. All-in-all, I have no complaints about the cast.

Visuals/Action:

As I previously mentioned, Stephen Kay's visual style did not appeal to me. However, there were a few things that I did enjoy about the visual, including being set in Seattle. The city works as a rainy and grey backdrop, which well suits the movie's mood. If Kay had perhaps used that backdrop to better effect rather than rely on dumb camera shit, it would have resonated better with me.

From an action standpoint, Get Carter hits most of the marks. There's a pretty nifty car chase about midway through the film, a gritty showdown and fight in an elevator and lots of Stallone outright cold-cocking people. The only miss (and it's kind of a big one) is in the film's climax. The audience is set up to expect a gnarly fight between Jack and Cyrus, which turns out to be a bit lame. This is a giant missed opportunity because the idea of Stallone, the guy who played Rocky, versus Rourke, who was an actual bonafide professional boxer, is a pretty intriguing one. Unfortunately, Kay and company never took it and instead, we were left with whatever limp noodle we got.

Score/Soundtrack:

Tyer Bates is responsible for the film's original music, what little there is. Most of the music is from contemporary hits (?). It wasn't good, and neither was it particularly bad. It was just kinda...there.

Final Verdict:

Despite some solid action bits in the middle, Get Carter's weak climax, coupled with a rushed story, means it doesn't get a full recommendation from me. Die-hard Stallone fans may want to check it out as it's a little-known entry in his filmography, but everyone else can probably skip it.