Bobby Z (2007)

I was toggling back & forth between the Wisconsin Badgers Football season opener & this movie on DVR AND IT WAS COMPELLING ENOUGH that for awhile I forgot to flip back to the game!!! So obviously I have no idea why this audience-tested badly or why people think Paul Walker can't act. Plus he's got a great cast to back him up...

The mystery of why this was going down hooked me early & I cared about what happened to these people (at least the good guys) For the girl-watchers out there ~ Olivia Wild is jaw-droppingly GORGEOUS!! I Can't believe I've seen movies with her in them before & not noticed!!! Definitely worth the rental price if you have to go that route.

Fmovies: I must say upfront I found 'The Death & Life of Bobby Z' to be quite sad and disappointing. I have read a great book by the author from where it came (half read another) and I really felt let down with this effort on screen. All I can think of is that the director John Herzfeld (15 Minutes, 2 Days in the Valley) didn't get to do what he wanted to do. I am sure he loved the book, which rights for were purchased for a considerable sum.

The story is that DEA agent Tad Gruzsa, played by Laurence Fishburne, provides former Marine Tim Kearney, played by Walker, with a way out of his prison sentence. By impersonating the legendary criminal Bobby Z... I felt it was a little too convoluted, slow in places (read 'quite boring'), stupid too in others, and don't think Paul Walker, or (surprisingly) Fishburne clinched their characters in what should have been an action, reasonably fast paced thriller.

Please do not watch this movie. It was very woeful... It was sad to see the great Neo, the terrific Laurence Fishburne incur this. Paul Walker? Forget it...

I was looking forward to seeing this film on the power of Laurence Fishburne primarily, Paul Walker, and secondly the author of the source (book) material, Don Winslow. I'm sure this book was great, like the one I have read 'The Winter of Frankie Machine' which is being turned into a movie with Robert De Niro starring, 'The Winter of Frankie Machine' by Scorcese...

But 'The Death & Life of Bobby Z' is one of the most woeful films, sloppy piece of celluloid dross, I have had the misfortune to see in a very longÂ… See it at your own peril.

Let me just start off by saying that i am quite an admirer of Paul Walker even thou he is not such a good actor i kinda like his style, this particular film had in my opinion a horrible script and a lot of pieces that didn't fit at all but it was really entertaining at least for my part. I gave it a 7, even thou i think i might have over rated it,the actress thou that played Elizabeth, i don't know her name yet but i will check it out after i post this comment, is a complete knock - out and i would see this film again just for another glimpse at her beauty-full face.

In an other of business i was quite surprised by the distribution of Lawrance Fishbourne in a secondary part like the one he had, i consider him a pretty good actor, a lot better than "macho man" Paul Walker.

In the end i'm just gonna say that i think they casted P. Walker just because he is a good "moaner" seeing him doing almost the same "battle sounds" in every film he had played in GrrrAAaarRRr (watch and listen closely). Cya

Bobby Z fmovies. I rented this movie thinking, "Hey, Paul Walker wasn't too bad in the fast and furious films and Laurence Fishburne is just awesome so why not get it?" Well friends, looks can and are deceiving, and I learned the hard way last evening watching this film. The director is trying so bad to keep you involved (or wanting to be involved) and for me it wasn't happening. The whole 'syking everyone out to think I'm Bobby Z' script work got old really quick, Paul Walker's acting was sub par (I haven't seen a lot of his work but I've been told by many that he's not that great of an actor). I cannot imagine what went through Laurence Fishburne's head when choosing to be in this film, he has done better, WAY better! There are way too many close up shots of Paul Walker (for absolutely no other reason than to show off his "Good Looks" and play some really lame music along with it). There is always some hot girl and a kid involved that need their lives saved, if you've seen it once, you've seen it a hundred times (just this time with Paul Walker). I suggest this film to people who only like Paul Walker and his close ups and not action flicks, because thats about all you get. Walker couldn't portray a criminal to save his life! Sorry Paul Walker fans, your boy let me down.

There is nothing much to be too excited of at this movie, but still entertaining. I wonder why it made its way to the silver screen because it's not better than dozens of Straight to Video productions. Storywise, you will get nothing more than you'd also get if you rent a Jean-Claude Van Damme Film. Same goes for "character development". There are some nice shootouts and fights, but nothing remarkable. It sometimes feels as if you were watching a film from the seventies: there is nothing really stylish or spectacular in the action scenes. Although it feels good to see movie that doesn't use the much common and enough-seen style of today's action flicks, the way this film shows the action seems out-dated. Also the film's pace should be higher, again it feels 70s-ish. As usual these days, there are some nice twists and turns in the story. Paul Walker does a decent job, but not as convincing as in "Running Scared". Laurence Fishburne he fails to put any life in his bad guy role. I am not impressed of Olivia Wilde in the leading female role. At least she tries hard to be more than decorative. 5/10

To see Thirteen (Olivia Wilde) from House makes the movie a "must-see" all by itself. But there is much more promise in this film with action star Paul Walker, and the ever popular Laurence Fishburne.

Walker is playing this drug dealer and is trying to get Fishburne's partner back. You know, what can go wrong, will go wrong. Now, he is on his own.

The name of the game here is action. From the first scene, we see Tim/Bobby (Walker) getting in trouble, and it never stops. After an exciting horse/motorcycle chase, he takes off with his (Bobby's) son. He has the feds, the drug lords, and a biker gang after him. Not a good bet to survive, but he is an ex-Marine. Never bet against the Marines.

Don't expect anything more than fast action and you will not be disappointed.

Joaquim de Almeida, who you should remember as Bucho in Desperado, is the bad guy here.

I can forgive anything director John Herzfeld does in this film as I am forever grateful for his introduction of the hot Charlize Theron in 2 Days in the Valley.