The Forger (2014)

Saw a trailer for this movie here on IMDb through no fault of my own, and when I got the chance to see it, I did. I got the feeling that this wasn't the biggest movie in history, and it isn't either.

I paint, and I like me a good heist-movie from time to time, and John Travolta is a decent actor, so I gave it a whirl.

Now, this movie isn't super bad, nor is it super good. It's a little under mediocre. The acting is pretty uninspired in some parts, and lacks energy, but it's all over OK. Travolta does an OK job, his charm shines through a little, but not a lot.

The movie has some slight action sprinkled in, actually a teeny bit of violence, but nothing much. It's like, almost exciting, and the heist part is alright. All over it's OK.

I'm not one to talk about plot holes, but there is one here that bothered me a little. All in all the movie takes no chances and is just OK. I was mildly entertained for most of the time.

Fmovies: slow start but the pace does pick up , there are some nice touches and the characters do stir emotion and feelingÂ…travolta uses his skills well to say few words bt the long silences speak volumes if ur willing to listen!Â….i guess he is using his own experience of loosing a son to convey the mood that would accompany such a tragic process for a parent and child Â….plummer also plays his part as the long suffering yet slightly irreverent father to travolta Â….tye sheridan is also well capable in his role as Will ,conveying adolescence and a heavy burden. Jennifer Ehle plays her character brilliantly as a disconnected drug addict mother reluctant to resolve her past. The film is also sensitive to the beauty of art and at the same time i guess the suffering that has accompanied some real artists whom have left us with a moment in historyÂ…The recipe of differing themes is well portrayed and nicely and sensitively edited Â….as long as expectations are kept reasonable, as no mind blowing car chases occur or fantasy special effects Â…then this film is worth your time imo and may even stimulate a tear or two and the ending although fairly predicable is a nice conclusion and not over cooked Â… im sure but could be wrong that this Monet was or is in the cardiff museum in wales ?

People expecting a more action oriented heist type of movie will probably be disappointed. "The Forger" leans towards family drama territory.

Now, if you can get past Travolta's look in this picture (I couldn't help getting distracted by his awkward wig and goatee) and don't expect much, you'll probably be mildly entertained.

Christopher Plummer is very likable in this, and his presence helps the movie a lot.

Overall, straight to video material.

5 out of 10

The Forger fmovies. Was Travolta "Going Clear" himself, in code, "Forging" a film, outing himself, and Scientology? This was curiously and quietly released on the heels of the HBO Scientology doc "Going Clear".

This is not so much a review but an observation. For those who saw this, I found it interesting that his character is trying to save his teen son, like in real life. He has an estranged wife on pills who curiously looks like Kelly Preston. Was Travolta's prison sentence represent the "prison" of Scientology? In this film Travolta's slick handlers beat him despite that he delivered the goods (a lifelike Scientology rumor). There is also a hint at Travolta's alleged homosexual lifestyle - scene where Travolta leaves a men's bathroom, the son asks "you followed that guy in the bathroom, why" (the choice of words is curious, Travolta, the actor could have easily revised this, but didn't, the words plant a seed). Also when he is setting up his handlers to fall, he states to a detective "I can't snitch, let this play out". Travolta himself stays honorable to his institution. Hmmmm? All I could see was a Travolta bio here hidden in plain sight. Movies are well known to wear disguises, that what makes them fun or re-watchable.

Despite the bad reviews this film is very engaging, and Travolta's best performance in some time. Perhaps it (intentionally) hit close to home. So did he "forge" a heist film, which was a drama, in an attempt to free himself? Just a thought.

Brief Review part - Plot wise this is ridiculous that Travolta has to repay is debt by not only creating an art forgery worth millions, BUT ALSO coordinate the elaborate heist with his family. That's a tall order even superheroes wouldn't task! But the film is not about the heist, rather family. Christopher Plummer is great as his father. Well directed and paced. Not sure why this got trashed.

"You ever going to Tahiti like Paul Gauguin? I don't know."

If there's something Travolta remained loyal to, then surely it's his distinctive, sad look. Ever since I saw him the first time appearing in "Saturday Night Fever" (ages ago), he uses that sad expression. It always looks as if he's going to burst out in tears. And the movie"The Forger" is substantively perfect for retrieving that typical facial expression at the right time. A film about a convicted forger who turned his back at his former profession. And at the same time he's a concerned father who would do anything to be with his son the short time that's left. And that's where this movie fails a bit. Does the emphasis lie on the father-son relationship or was it the intention to make a crime story? The final result is a mix of these two, with the result that both aspects feel like semi-finished.

Raymond J. Cutter (John Travolta) is a notorious forger of art works and is about to be released earlier because of a deal with a thug called Keegan (Anson Mount). In this way he can spend some time with his son Will (Tye Sheridan), a petite teenager whose future doesn't look so rosy after they've discovered a brain tumor. To say the very least, the relationship between Will and his father isn't too good. Also between Raymond and his father (Christopher Plummer), who took care of Will during Raymond's absence, there are some disputes. The additional problem is that Keegan expects something in return from Raymond, namely forging a valuable, world famous painting from Monet.

Now, I'm not an art expert but I don't think you can forge a Monet painting in such a short time period. I'm sure you don't really need high-tech methods to determine from the outset if the painting hanging on the wall is authentic or recently painted. But my gut feeling says that this aspect of "The Forger" is irrelevant and that it's just used as an entertaining way to introduce the father-son relationship. Would Travolta be a professional dancer in this film, and he and his son had to participate in a renowned competition together (where Travolta could show his famous 70s dance moves once again) this would have yielded the same result. Commercially, the result would probably be disappointing. So we throw in a bit of mystery and crime (where Travolta can demonstrate his tough side again and beat up some bouncers with a baseball bat) to make it more attractive.

Although it looks a lot like a typical movie, at times the acting transcends the average. Especially the moments between father and son are beautifully played with vulnerability and regret getting the upper hand. That it eventually turns into a collaboration between father and son, is a bit far-fetched. Plummer also shines at times and shows he's perfectly suited for a character part. Even Travolta demonstrates that he has more to offer than just watching sad all the time. The loss of his son Jett most likely has something to do with his rendition looking so realistic. Maybe he decided to give this role a try as a therapeutic decision, in order to put a painful period in the past.

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'The Forger' is a strange film in a way. It feels like it's trying to cover every genre at once from thriller to action to comedy to drama. They're all there but the film never takes the time to focus on one of them in particular and I think that holds it back. At times John Travolta's character is shown to be a tough man capable of fighting 6 men at once with ease. And yet this fact is only really useful to that scene and not in any other way to the story. There's a dramatic element holding the plot together which is Travolta's son having cancer, but even with this being the driving force behind everything it still feels half done. Then there's the art heist which you would imagine to be the crux of the entire thing, but this too feels like a tacked on plot piece simply there to give the film a title and a hint of excitement to an otherwise potentially dull story. Despite the balance being off though it's quite a watchable movie.

Travolta is looking old and worn down it has to be said. He looked very far from a man capable of taking on 6 large men in a fight. His performance, at least dramatically, was quite good however as you would expect with him of course having a close association with the lose of his son five years previously. He did struggle a bit with the Boston accent, with it appearing and disappearing from scene to scene. The rest of the cast held things together but were nothing memorable. I think a few touch ups of the script structure and this could have been quite a sleeper hit. Even as it it's not all that bad of a watch.