WE OWN THE NIGHT

Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix) has turned his back on the family business. The popular manager of El Caribe, the legendary Russian-owned nightclub in Brooklyn's Brighton Beach, he has changed his last name and concealed his connection to a long line of distinguished New York cops. For Bobby, every night is a party, as he greets friends and customers or dances with his beautiful Puerto Rican girlfriend, Amada (Eva Mendes), in a haze of cigarette smoke and disco music. But it's 1988, and New York City's drug trade is escalating. Bobby tries to keep a friendly distance from the Russian gangster who is operating out of the nightclub--a gangster who is being targeted by his brother, Joseph (Mark Wahlberg), an up-and-coming NYPD officer, and his father, Burt (Robert Duvall), the legendary deputy chief of police.

Robert's Review

"We Own the Night" has some great acting all-around, but it suffers a bit in length and pace… the drama is slow at times and feels weighted down. I really loved the opening scene with Eva Mendez (let's just say she's really "enjoying herself") and I thought the chemistry between her and Joaquin Phoenix was really good. Some of the scenes/movie sets were really impressive, but I just couldn't get over the slow pacing and I ended up almost not caring about the characters towards the end of the movie… I just wanted to finish and get out of there already. Had the movie been about 20-25 minutes shorter, it would have been a LOT better. Overall "We Own the Night" was an interesting movie, but just not that entertaining.

All in all, I'd give this movie 2.5 Nightclubs (out of 5). Re-watch value: LOW (yawn)

Brett's Review

Well… what started off as a really interesting movie (Eva Mendes masturbating on the couch) turns into a really big snoozer very quickly. I was hoping this would be a good movie with a great cast, however I was disappointed about 25% of the way in and then there wasn't enough going on to really catch my attention again till almost the end. I felt like the story dragged on & on & on & on and would never stop. The acting was really good, however you can't expect actors to carry your movie for you, there needs to be a plot and a story to work with. Overall I thought this was a big-time nap movie, so instead of taking something to get some rest or sleep, I could watch this movie instead.

Overall Rating: 2.5 Nightclubs (out of 5). Re-Watch Value: Low (Only if I need to go to sleep.)

Trivia: (1) Sony bought the film for a reported $11 millions. (2) The film originated at Warner Brothers and was briefly acquired by Universal. (3) According to an interview with Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix would get into character by hurling insults at Robert Duvall between takes. This upset Duvall greatly and Wahlberg had to restrain him.

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