DUNGEONS & DRAGONS : HONOUR AMONG THIEVES - Tuesday 4th April 2023.

I saw the M Rated 'DUNGEONS & DRAGONS : HONOUR AMONG THIEVES' this week, and this American fantasy heist action comedy film is Directed and Co-Written by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, based on the tabletop role-playing game 'Dungeons & Dragons'. This film bears no connection to the original trilogy of films that launched with the feature film 'Dungeons & Dragons' in 2000, then the made for TV 'Dungeons & Dragons : Wrath of the Dragon God' in 2005 and the direct to video third film 'Dungeons & Dragons 3 : The Book of Vile Darkness' in 2012. The film was originally set to be released on 23rd July 2021 but due to scheduling conflicts, the COVID-19 pandemic, and various other studio delays a release date of two weeks ago in the US and last week in Australia was finally set upon, having seen its World Premier screening at SXSW earlier in March. It has garnered positive critical reviews, and cost US$150M to produce, and has so far grossed US$83M in Box Office receipts.

The film opens up in Revel's End arctic prison where Bard Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine) and his barbarian accomplice Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez) have been holed up for the past two years. Edgin stands before a panel of three judges explaining his back story and the reasons why he and Holga should be pardoned for their past crimes and released. Edgin spent years as a member of the Harpers, an order of peacekeepers, until a Red Wizard he had antagonised killed his wife. Accompanied by Holga, Edgin attempted to make a new life for himself and his daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman) by turning to theft, teaming with amateur sorcerer Simon Aumar (Justice Smith) and rogue Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant), along with the latter's mysterious acquaintance, Sofina (Daisy Head). While robbing a Harper stronghold, Edgin attempted to steal a 'Tablet of Reawakening' to bring his wife back to life, but he and Holga were captured, while their accomplices escaped with the Tablet.

We then come back to Edgin's plea for release, as he and Holga manage to escape from the prison by clinging onto a human sized bird, Chancellor Jarnathan (Clayton Grover), as he smashes through a window high up in the prison tower and glides the pair some distance away to safety as Chancellor Anderton (Nicholas Blane) cries after them that he had approved their release. And so the pair escape to Neverwinter and learn that Forge has become Lord there, after its prior Lord was stricken down by some mysterious illness. Forge has been taking care of Kira during the last two years, and has convinced her that Edgin's greed and selfishness led to his imprisonment. Sofina is revealed to be a Red Wizard, and she and Forge deliberately orchestrated the capture of Edgin and Holga.

Sofina tries, unsuccessfully, to dispense with Edgin and Holga, but they escape and decide to rob Forge's vault and bring Kira home with them during the upcoming High Sun Games at the stadium, needing the Tablet to prove their innocence. The gladiatorial games had previously been banned, but Forge resurrected them, promising the locals that the games would bring in tourists and money, and it's what the people want anyhow. Edgin and Holga track down Simon to help and he suggests also recruiting Doric (Sophia Lillis), a druid, whose forest community is battling against the forced logging handed down by Forge.

Doric gains access to Forge's castle by shapeshifting into various animal forms and finds the vault has magical defences which Simon says he lacks power to disable. Simon suggests that a magic relic, 'The Helm of Disjunction' could disable them. They travel to an old graveyard to ask Holga's ancestors where to find it. Simon resurrects the dead with a talisman long enough for them to answer five questions, with the corpses revealing they gave the Helm to Xenk Yandar (Rege-Jean Page), a paladin who fled his country, Thay, when Red Wizards turned his people into an army of the undead.

After getting to know each other Xenk, forces Edgin to swear to distribute any gained treasures to the people, leads the group through a vast subterranean network of tunnels and caverns known as the Underdark where the Helm has been secretly stashed away. With the help of a teleportation staff obtained from Holga's halfling ex-husband Marlamin (Bradley Cooper), they find the relic, but are attacked by Thayan assassins ordered by Sofina. Xenk fights off the assassins and helps the group escape from an overweight and less than agile red dragon, before exiting.

Simon is unable to master the Helm's power, so they decide to use the teleportation staff to enter the vault during the games. Simon and Holga are able to enter the magically-sealed door after Simon is able to master the Helm's power, but find the room behind it empty except for a magical trap. The whole group is captured and instead of death on the spot choose to participate in the games, but are able to escape after successfully negotiating several challenges and obstacles. Doric discovers that Forge has loaded the treasure onto a boat and is preparing to flee, so the group steals the boat for themselves and rescues Kira from Forge, who threatened Kira's life.

About a mile out to sea, the group realise that Sofina organised the games to draw a massive crowd and turn them into an army of the undead using the same curse that destroyed Thay. The group returns and transports Forge's stolen riches out of the boat with the teleportation staff and scatters them across the city, as Edgin had promised Xenk, so drawing the people out of the stadium before Sofina's spell can take effect.

Angered by her defeat, Sofina attacks the group, but Simon is able to master his magic and reverse Sofina's time-stop spell, allowing Kira to use an invisibility pendant Edgin and Holga had given her as a child to place an anti-magic bracelet on Sofina. Sofina is subsequently killed when attacked by Doric in her shapeshifting owlbear form and is then crushed by falling rubble from a building she was slammed into. However, Holga is fatally injured in the battle and dies in Kira's arms with Edgin looking on. Edgin uses the Tablet (which can only be used once) to bring her back to life, as he accepts that he wanted to bring back his wife only for his own sake while Holga had become a true part of their family. Now fully recovered from his mystery illness, the old Lord of Neverwinter declares the team heroes of the realm and Forge is sent to Revel's End, where he is seen one year into his sentence pleading with the Chancellor's for his early release, which they reject. 

'Dungeons & Dragons : Honour Among Thieves' is an OK movie, but that's as far as I would go with my praise for this fantasy action comedy offering. I didn't love it and I also didn't hate it either. It's a very simple story that unfolds well enough, but it's also quite silly in places and at times it meanders along at a snails pace before lurching into the next action set piece with barely any real impact on the storyline other than padding. Chris Pine is on good form here as the charming happy-go-lucky bard Edgin; as is Michelle Rodriquez as the type cast tough-as-nails ass-kicking heroine; with more than admirable turns from Justice Smith, Rege-Jean Page, Sophie Lillis and Hugh Grant to round out the principle cast and who all bring a not too serious light hearted tone to the picture, although I'm not sure I would rush out to see further instalments should this become a franchise.

'Dungeons & Dragons : Honour Among Thieves' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

CRISIS : Tuesday 30th March 2021.

'CRISIS', which I saw at my local multiplex this week, is an MA15+ Rated crime thriller Directed, Produced, Written and also starring Nicholas Jarecki in only his second feature film making outing following 2012's 'Arbitrage' with Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Tim Roth. The film was released in the US in late February, and in Canada and Australia two weeks ago now, having gained mixed or average Reviews along the way. Featuring an ensemble cast that takes in the likes of Gary Oldman, Armie Hammer, Evangeline Lilly, Greg Kinnear, Luke Evans, Michelle Rodriguez, Lily-Rose Depp, Indira Varma, Kid Cudi and Martin Donovan the film has so far grossed US$986K at the Box Office. 

And so the film opens up with an action sequence that sees a white clad camouflaged drug runner pulling a makeshift sleigh thorough a forest and in the snow only to be ambushed and subsequently arrested by Police in a helicopter and on snowmobiles while trying to smuggle Fentanyl across an unpatrolled stretch of the Canadian border, about forty miles south of Montreal.

Meanwhile, back in Detroit, following the arrest, Jake Kelly (Armie Hammer) goes into damage control with a pair of Armenian gangster associates Minas (Michael Aronov) and Armen (Adam Tsekhman). He then risks blowing his cover to visit his drug addled younger sister Emmie (Lily-Rose Depp) seemingly recovering in a rehab facility, but largely non compos mentis. Kelly, who we subsequently learn is in fact an undercover DEA Officer, holds a briefing with his colleagues to bring them up to speed with his operations, which he has been working on for over a year now to infiltrate the Armenian's and gain their confidence that he is on the level. 

While this is going on the second story strand launches with architect Claire Reimann (Evangeline Lilly) attending a drug users survivors meeting recounting her former acute addiction to OxyContin, without realising just how close to home the trade has become in illicit drugs when her sixteen year old mad sports keen fan son David (Billy Bryk) goes missing, and winds up very dead seemingly overdosed on OxyContin. 

The third strand unravels in the hallowed halls of a university campus where charismatic professor of biology Dr. Tyrone Brower (Gary Oldman) teaches a captivated lecture theatre, but may be about to compromise his integrity in his lab by conducting drug trials directly sponsored for the last seven years by a major pharmaceutical company. When Brower’s lab assistants come to the realisation that a new wonder drug, Klaralon, is three times more addictive than other painkillers on mice (and fatal when taken to excess, although claimed to be non-addictive), he’s torn by what to do with this revelation. 

Enter Big Pharma Executive Dr. Bill Simmons (Luke Evans) to offer Brower’s department a US$780K grant in exchange for enhanced nondisclosure terms, updating and making even more watertight those signed seven years previously. But then the Principal of the University, Dean Talbot (Greg Kinnear) basically intervenes and tells him not to worry about the results on the mice, to sign the non-disclosure statement and take the much needed funding to enable Brower to continue with his research. This turn of events puts Brower in an even greater quandary.

In the meantime, Jake Kelly and his DEA partner Stanley Foster (Nicholas Jerecki) are under pressure to bring their undercover operation to a close within the next two weeks, otherwise it will be shut down. Kelly has a meeting with Supervisor Garrett (Michelle Rodriguez) at which this news is broken. Kelly arranges a meeting with the drug smuggling kingpin, known only as Mother (Guy Nadon) in an attempt to fast track a US$3M cash trade for two truck loads of Fentanyl, hidden inside vitamin bottles. Mother is initially reluctant, but ultimately agrees to the manufacture of the drug in the volume required and the sale of it to Kelly. 

At the same time, Claire Reimann is recovering from the tragic loss of her son, smells a rat as a result of the autopsy revealing a substantial bruise to his head, and the manner in which he died. She starts to do some of her own digging, which leads her to Derrick Millebran (Duke Nicholson), a former at arms length associate of her son, where it is revealed that David didn't even know he was acting as a mule for a stash of Fentanyl that he was carrying in his back pack while cycling home. He was poisoned by Mother by forcing on overdose of the drug down his throat.

Brower, after wrestling with his conscience decides to expose the pharmaceutical company to the FDA as a Whistleblower. Talbot and he have a falling out, with the Principal saying that such tests on mice are deemed inconclusive anyway, and as the pharmaceutical were in the final stages of human trials anyway it really didn't matter. Needless to say, the University and the big pharma company begin dredging up dirt on Brower to discredit him which ultimately costs him his job and his twenty plus year friendship with Dean Talbot. Brower's wife Madira (Indira Varma) is however, very supportive of her husband and remains stoic throughout. After his dismissal from the university, he is attending the FDA hearing with his contact their Ben Walker (Kid Cudi) where basically his findings are dismissed, he is not permitted to speak to give his viewpoint, Klaralon is passed and authorised for public use, Walker is 'reassigned', and the big pharma company walks away with all the spoils, overseen by Dr. Bill Simmons, Meg Holmes the CEO of the company (Veronica Ferres) and the two owner brothers of the company Lawrence (Martin Donovan) and Harold Morgan (Marcel Jeannin).   

Reimann has in between time hired a Private Investigator to do some digging on Mother (bacause as an ordinary citizen she wouldn't have access to the type of intelligence that a PI would of course), and at the same time provide her with a gun, as it has become blatantly obvious that she intends to kill the man responsible for her sons death. Kelly has set up the deal with Mother for him to manufacture the pills, bottle and label them in vitamin canisters, in exchange for US$3M - US$1M of which he has been authorised by Garrett to use, with the other US$2M coming from his Armenian contacts Minas and Armen. A time is set for the exchange in an abandoned warehouse with Stanley Foster in a surveillance truck on standby with the cavalry waiting in the wings poised ready to pounce given the signal. But of course these things never go according to plan and a firefight breaks out with Kelly getting shot cleanly in the chest by Mother who then makes his escape. In the firefight, Kelly recovers having been wearing a bullet proof vest of course, but Foster is shot in the neck, bleeds out and dies in Kelly's arms. Kelly gives chase to Mother but he is gone having been whisked away in a car. 

The PI calls Reimann on her mobile phone and informs her that Mother owns a seaplane that is kept down at the docks, and in all likelihood he'll be headed for there to make his getaway. Kelly meanwhile, sits in front of his Chief with Garrett to be told that the case is now being closed down. Needless to say he in none to pleased at this prospect given that the killer of his partner is still free. He runs off to the bar which Mother owned, beats up on the barman demanding to know where Mother is. Under duress and at gunpoint the barman says that Mothers owns a seaplane down at the docks and that is probably where he's headed. As Kelly pulls up and parks amongst the stacked containers and out of sight, he notices Reimann also parked there, patiently awaiting the arrival of Mother. A car pulls up and out steps Mother and another. Reimann gets out of her vehicle and points her weapon at Mother and calls out to him. He turns and she hesitates, giving him time to pull his weapon. She fires three or fours rounds at Mother killing him, but not before being shot herself in her arm before he went down. Kelly takes care of the other man as he runs to Reimann to lend her assistance. 

With both Mother and his associate dead on the ground, Kelly exchanges Mother's pistol for Reimann's, picks up all the dead rounds from Reimann's gun and places them on the ground next to Mother, and then they both drive off in her car. In a hotel room Kelly is bandaging up Reimann's arm. She asks Kelly if he is now going to take her off to prison, at which he responds with a no.

A lot of comparisons have been drawn between 'Crisis' and 2000's Steven Soderbergh Directed 'Traffic' which tells the story of the lives of four people which intertwine because of the drug trade in America. Each experiences personal loss and despair in the ongoing war on drugs, but is helpless. Sure enough there are similarities but that film was made twenty+ years ago and the war on drugs has moved on since then and there is a whole new audience out there probably unfamiliar with that multi award winning and nominated feature film. Here the plot moves along at a good pace, has certainly got something to say about opioid addiction, and the performances of the principle cast is spot on - particularly that of Evangeline Lilly whose grief stricken role is believable and relatable. The film doesn't take us in a new direction and the third act lurches into predictable familiar territory, but nonetheless this is a solid enough story from second time Director Jerecki that makes this film worth the price of your cinema entry.

'Crisis' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

ALITA : BATTLE ANGEL : Tuesday 19th February 2019.

I saw 'ALITA : BATTLE ANGEL' earlier in the week. This American cyberpunk action film is Directed by Robert Rodriguez, and Co-Produced and Co-Written for the screen by James Cameron based on the Japanese manga artist Yukito Kishiro graphic novel 'Gunnm' (aka 'Battle Angel Alita'). Going back to 2000, Kishiro's manga was brought to the attention of James Cameron by Guillermo del Toro who so liked what he saw and read that he immediately registered a domain name for the film, and by 2003 was announced as Director on a feature length live action film. Then Cameron's 'Avatar' got in the way and it was then slated for a 2009 release. In 2010 Cameron stated that the film was still in development but no plans existed as to a release date. In 2013 he set a Production start date of 2017 and in the meantime Robert Rodriguez was in discussions to Direct if he could condense Cameron's script and sizeable notes into a workable Screenplay. Filming began in late 2016 with Rodriguez Directing with Cameron Producing, and a budget of somewhere between US$150 and 200M. Digital effects were provided by Peter Jackson's New Zealand based Weta Digital, amongst others. The film was released in the US last week too, has so far recouped US$156M of its circa US$180M production budget, and has generated largely mixed or average Reviews so far. If the film proves commercially successful ultimately, this will be the first instalment in a franchise that will see at least two sequels reportedly.

Set some five hundred years in the future, following the catastrophic global war known at 'The Fall' of some three hundred years previously, the abandoned disembodied 'core' of a female cyborg, with a still intact human brain, is found in the scrapyard of Iron City by Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate cyber-doctor. Ido takes the remnants of the upper body back to his workshop come lab and fits her out with a new body, one he had previously built for his disabled daughter, who died before he was able to give it to her.

When the girl awakens in an upstairs bedroom, she is surprised by her fully functioning body and takes a few moments to find her feet and get accustomed to her new and strange surroundings. She ventures downstairs and is greeted by Ido and his assistant. The cyborg girl has no recollection of her past life at all, not even her name. Ido calls her Alita (Rosa Salazar) - after his dead daughter.

Ido takes Alita out into the street where she gets her first taste of her new world and all the hustle and bustle of the metropolis that is Iron City. Pretty quickly Alita befriends Hugo (Keean Johnson), who harbours dreams of moving to the wealthy sky city of Zalem that hovers just a few kilometres above Iron City. A few days later Hugo introduces her to the competitive sport of Motorball - the street version as opposed to the grand spectator arena battle royale race where cyborgs fight to the death (kind of a more up to date take on 1975's 'Rollerball').

One day Ido comes home with a badly injured arm. A few nights later, Alita follows Ido as he leaves the house carrying a huge case and subsequently discovers that Ido is a 'Hunter-Warrior' when they are set upon by three cyborg assassins led by Grewishka (Jackie Earle Haley). In the ensuing attack Ido is injured. Alita's instincts click in and she attacks the cyborgs, killing two of them and severely damaging Grewishka, who retreats underground. Despite Alita re-igniting her skill in the ancient martial art of 'Panzer Kunst', Ido discourages her from becoming a Hunter-Warrior. 

Later, out on an expedition with Hugo and two of his friends to the outskirts of the city and through a forest Alita is taken to a downed space ship resting overgrown and half submerged in a lagoon. Hugo tells her that it is a relic of 'The Fall' but Alita is drawn to the ship, jumps in the lagoon and seeks to gain entry. She does and emerges on the inside where the controls of the ship spring to life as if Alita is a charged battery needed to power it up. In it, she finds and brings home to Ido a 'Berserker body' which Alita begs Ido to fit onto her. Ido refuses, saying it is a relic of the past, she now has a new life and besides its an unknown quantity that could do more harm than good. This angers Alita, so she promptly registers herself as a Hunter-Warrior.

Alita and Hugo then make for the Kansas Bar, a local hang-out for the Hunter-Warrior community to ask others to help her take out Grewishka, but they refuse. There Zapan (Ed Skrein) an acclaimed cyborg Hunter-Warrior picks a fight with Alita and comes off worse. As a fight breaks out and mayhem ensues across the crowded bar, an upgraded Grewishka storms into the bar and challenges Alita to a rematch, stating that he had been ordered by Nova, his boss, to destroy her. At the same time Ido arrives on the scene.

Despite her bravery and proven fighting skills, Alita's body is sliced up by Grewishka's bladed fingers before she blinds him with her left arm. Ido, Hugo, and McTeague (Jeff Fahey), another Hunter-Warrior who leads a pack of robot killer dogs, force him to retreat. Ido has no option now but to transplant Alita onto the Berserker body, which automatically begins to interface with her core system.

Kitted out with her brand new shiny all singing all dancing Berserker body, Alita enters a Motorball tryout race as a means to send Hugo to Zalem with the winners proceeds. Ido discovers that the other contestants are Hunter-Warriors and wanted cyborgs hired by Vector (Mahershala Ali), an entrepreneur working under Nova, a powerful Zalem scientist, to kill her. He warns Alita, and as the race gets underway, she dispenses with many of the contestants with her superior combat skills and evasive techniques.

Meanwhile, Hugo is being hunted by Zapan, after he frames Hugo for murdering a cyborg - a charge punishable by death. Hugo calls on Alita for help. She locates Hugo just as Zapan arrives and reveals to her that Hugo has been attacking cyborgs and stealing their body parts for Vector to transplant onto other contestants in his Motorball games. Zapan mortally wounds Hugo and cordially informs Alita that Hunter-Warrior law dictates that she must either now kill Hugo or let Zapan finish him off.

Chiren (Jennifer Connelly), Ido's ex-wife, also a master cyborg engineer and in cahoots with Vector as a means to relocate herself to Zalem, is looking on, and is prompted by a flood of emotion to save Hugo by attaching his head to Alita's all powerful cyborg heart in order to keep his brain functioning. Zapan attempts to stop Alita from leaving and she slices part of his face off with his prized sword, which she claims as her own.

Back at Ido's cyborg surgery, he transplants Hugo's head onto a cyborg body, and then promptly advises Alita that Hugo's actions were based on the fact that he would be able to eventually buy his way into Zalem, which quite simply was not the case. Ido confides that this was a lie fabricated by Vector for his own ends, and that citizens of Iron City are unable to gain entry into Zalem unless they become a Motorball champion. Alita decides to confront Vector, who is being mind-controlled by Nova. Alita arrives at Vector's high rise penthouse suite and through Vector, Nova reveals to Alita that Chiren has been harvested for her vital organs and then orders Grewishka who has scaled up the outside of the building to reach them, to kill her. Alita battles Grewishka again and this time, thanks to her new powerful Berserker body, finally kills him by slicing his re-modified body clean in half, then stabs Vector, communicating with Nova through Vector's dying eyes that he made the mistake of underestimating her.

Ido communicates to Alita that Hugo has fled and is desperately attempting to climb one of the supporting tubes that binds Zalem to Iron City, in a seemingly vain attempt to reach the place of his dreams. Alita gives chase, catches up and pleads with Hugo to return with her. Hugo ventures ever upward and in doing so Nova releases a razor spiked defencive ring that slices through Hugo's body sending his various body parts into the air. Leaping after him, Alita is unable to prevent Hugo from falling to his death. Some months later, and Alita is the star champion of the Motorball arena. As she walks into the packed stadium greeted by the cheering crowd of spectators, she points her sword towards Zalem, while Nova (unmasked for the first time to reveal Edward Norton in an unspeaking cameo role) watches her from above. 

There is no doubt that 'Alita : Battle Angel' is a feast for the senses, a visual spectacle, and an achievement in world building that offers the audience all the latest in CGI technology writ large with enough slicing and dicing violence and flailing body parts to keep any genre die hard fan in clover.  And, on that level the film delivers in spades. Rosa Salazar puts in a convincing enough performance too as our rebirthed and then born again protagonist Alita, but as for the other human characters they are under cooked, and the others are nothing more than human heads perched atop various heavily customised cyborg killing machines. The story is nothing we haven't seen a hundred times before and as such plays out predictably saved only by various digitally rendered action set pieces to help things move along apace. All that said, this film is a worth a look and worth catching on the big screen - just don't go in with too high an expectation. Michelle Rodriguez and Jai Courtney also cameo.

'Alita : Battle Angel' warrants three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

WIDOWS : Wednesday 28th November 2018.

'WIDOWS' which I saw earlier in the week at my local multiplex, is an American heist drama film based on the 1983 and 1985 British television series of the same name that was written by Lynda La Plante, and which ran for two series each of six episodes. Now in 2018 that earlier inspiration has been given a makeover some thirty years later and this time is written for the screen by Gillian Flynn, the author of the acclaimed novel and later film 'Gone Girl'. Directed by Steve McQueen whose previous Directorial credits include 'Hunger', 'Shame' and '12 Years a Slave', here he has amassed an ensemble cast for a Production Budget of US$42M and what has so far received widespread Critical praise. The film saw its Premier screening at TIFF back in September, was released in the UK early in November, the US and Australia mid-November, has so far grossed US$42M and has been Critically praised.

The story here surrounds a Police shootout that leaves four career thieves and partners in crime dead during an explosive armed robbery attempt in Chicago that goes horribly wrong for the gang of four. Those men were Harry Rawlins (Liam Neeson), Carlos Perelli (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), Florek Gunner (Jon Bernthal) and Jimmy Nunn (Coburn Goss). We see the four men in the lead up to their fateful robbery living the domestic life with their wives, children, pets, jobs and each man leaving their domestic situation on the morning of the daring heist . . .  never to return. We then cut to the funerals of each one in turn - mostly small & private, expect for Harry's which was a much grander affair attended by many guests and a few dignitaries. The widows left behind are Veronica Rawlins (Viola Davis), Linda Perelli (Michelle Rodriguez), Alice Gunner (Elizabeth Debicki) and Amanda Nunn (Carrie Coon). At Harry's funeral, after his body is lowered into the ground, Veronica is approached by Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell) who is running for election for the position of Alderman in the South Side Ward of Chicago, offering his deepest sympathies and his support, if ever she needs anything.

Meanwhile Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry) is also running for election as Alderman of the South Side Ward against Mulligan, and there is a fierce rivalry between the two. Mulligan believing that as his father and grandfather before him occupied that seat, that he has a divine right to it having been born into the role, and Manning believes that he is a man of the people and is their voice at a grassroots level. However, Manning is also a crime boss, and has his younger brother Jatemme (Daniel Kaluuya) to do his dirty work for him, including dispensing with ruthless efficiency with those that would cross the pair or stand in the way of them getting what they want. We quickly learn that Harry and his gang robbed Jamal of US$2M which went up in smoke, and now the Manning's are wanting their money back, as this money was to fund Manning's electoral campaign against Mulligan. The pair look on menacingly from a distance at Harry's funeral.

Harry's trusted long time driver Bash (Garret Dillahunt) while driving Veronica around, hands her a small package containing a key and a handwritten note with the location of a safety deposit box. Recovering the box she opens it up to reveal a note book, in which are contained copious detailed notes of Harry's former robberies, and those planned. In it are contained notes of a future robbery worth US$5M in cash. Meanwhile, Jamal has visited Veronica in her home, demanding repayment of the US$2M that her husband stole from him, and gives her one month to pay up in full or suffer the consequences. Veronica claims to have known nothing about her husbands criminal activities and doesn't have that sort of money, despite the facade of living in a plush apartment with all the trappings of success. Despite what she may or may not claim to know about her husbands 'business', she has one month.

Veronica, realising the seriousness with which Jamal speaks and the threats made against her, decides to carry out the plan as laid out in Harry's note book in order to repay her debt to Jamal. She sets up a secret meeting with the three other widows whom she has never met before, and whose details she coerced out of Bash. Veronica is successful in recruiting both Alice and Linda to assist execute her plan, but this is completely new territory to the widows and they are each pretty clueless about what's involved - they just know they've gotta complete the task now in hand, and live with the consequences whatever they might be. The fourth widow however, Amanda, does not show to their initial meeting. Veronica outlines the plan in brief and says that if the girls are 'in' to meet tomorrow night at 11:30pm at a secret location which turns out to be Harry's former warehouse and and centre of operations, which remains just as the gang left it before their last job.

At that meeting, after some soul searching and weighing up their options, Alice and Linda are both in. Veronica charges Alice to buy the getaway van and three Glock pistols, while Linda is tasked with deciphering a blueprint in Harry's plan that is the location of the planned heist. Alice purchases a van from a used vehicle auction house, and the three pistols from a gun fair. Linda however, struggles to locate the whereabouts of the building depicted on the photocopied blueprint. Meanwhile, Alice has become an 'escort' at her mother Agnieska (Jacki Weaver) suggestion, to raise some much needed cash and all the trappings that go with it. On her first 'date' she falls into a transactional relationship with David (Lukas Haas) a real estate developer. She uses David's knowledge to trace the origin of the blueprint and the location of the building depicted thereon. He comes back some days later stating that it is a safe room within Jack Mulligan's home. As for Amanda, Veronica visits her and learns that she has a four month old newborn baby, and so decides not to mention their upcoming heist or to seek her involvement. 

Bash is visited unannounced in his home by Jatemme and his henchmen seeking the whereabouts of the notebook, realising the value contained in its detailed handwritten pages. When Bash claims no knowledge of its whereabouts he is promptly beaten to a pulp and murdered while Jatemme looks on. Still with no driver to provide their getaway, Linda recruits Belle (Cynthia Erivo), her children’s babysitter, and a hairdresser in a Salon underpinned by funding from Mulligan. Veronica is reluctant, but with six days only remaining on the month long deadline to pay up, she agrees to take Belle on, and it seems like she is made of sterner stuff, and can drive. Veronica visits the Mulligan home to ask Jack for protection from Manning, to which he politely declines, and to scout out the building in advance of the heist, while Belle scans the external security systems. Veronica also successfully acquires the code to the Mulligan safe by blackmailing the CEO of the Mulligans' security company, Ken (Matt Walsh) using explicit photographs of him of a sexual nature left in Harry's notebook.

The group commences the heist at night by creating a distraction down the street to divert police attention. The house is believed to be empty save for a lone Security Guard whom they taser and incapacitate. Jack Mulligan is away at an election debate between him and Jamal Manning. Having gained access to the safe and loaded up with US$5M in cash, in making their exit they are interrupted by Tom Mulligan (Robert Duvall), father of Jack and the current sitting Alderman, who shoots and wounds Alice. Linda returns fire and kills him. They escape with the money, but are caught by Jamal's brother Jatemme who is holding Belle at gunpoint and who in turn steals it from them, leaving the four girls standing on the side of the road penniless. 

Thinking he is clear Jatemme relaxes with a big smile on his dial behind the wheel of the girls getaway van, only to be heavily shunted from behind by a station wagon with the four widows giving chase and Belle at the wheel. Jatemme looses control of the vehicle and smashes into a crash barrier head-on killing him instantly. The girls retrieve the money and make their getaway. Linda takes Alice to the nearest hospital for medical attention to her gun shot wound and remains with her. Veronica drops Belle off at home before returning to the hideout with the stash of cash. Upon leaving the hideout having taken care of some final business, Veronica torches their getaway car, before loading up the final bag of swag into her own car. 

A few days later it is announced on the radio that Jack Mulligan won the election on a wave of public sympathy following his father's murder. Linda reacquires the store she lost upon her husband's death due to his gambling debts, Alice sets up her own business, and Belle moves out of town with her own children. Out of danger of Manning, Veronica donates much of her share to endow a library building in her and Harry's deceased son's memory and name at the school he attended.

I enjoyed 'Widows' but not as much as I thought I would, and I felt let down by the glowing Critical acclaim that seemingly has been bestowed upon McQueen's heist actioner. The performances are top rate - especially Viola Davis and Elizabeth Debicki, the film looks good enough, but for a heist movie set in Chicago of all places, the actual and only heist takes place in the final ten minutes of a two hour+ long movie, and there are plot holes aplenty too. Four dead career criminal husbands, four grieving and at a complete loss desperate wives, political power play, father and son machinations, gangsters making demands, violence, death and emotional turmoil are all at play here, together with a seemingly completely incompetent Chicago PD. The film moves along at a goodly pace, but some of the scenes felt rushed, especially towards the end leaving questions unanswered and plot holes uncovered, and some of the characters were left hanging without any real sense of closure. Critics seems to be raving about 'Widows' but audiences less so, and I'm in the camp with the audience I must say. Despite this the film has plenty of redeeming features too and is worth a look - it's good, but it's not great!

'Widows' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard, from a potential five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-