Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

The first must-see film of the year.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

This movie is full of photo imagery that makes it suspenseful and a compelling drama. I feel like it's one of those movies you need to sit in a booth by yourself and watch it to fully be engulfed in the story. The acting is okay, but the story line is good and compelling. Phoenix has nothing to do with the city in Arizona, so if you are thinking about that then just get it out of your mind. The superstitious nature of the characters keeps you on the edge of your seat. The photo booth scene was the best. I highly recomend renting this, it is definitely worth it!

This superb thriller features an array of colourful characters and some beautiful cinematography which not only looks great but also complements the rather menacing atmosphere of the piece. The action takes place in an environment in which everyone is corrupt and the threat of violence is ever present.Harry Collins (Ray Liotta) is a police detective with a gambling addiction whose work brings him into contact with violent criminals and a group of colleagues who are all thoroughly corrupt and untrustworthy. In amongst all this moral bankruptcy, Harry is something of an exception as he, at least, has some (albeit unorthodox) ethical standards which govern his conduct. His inability to control his compulsion to gamble, however, eventually gets him into a tight spot when his losses increase to $32,000 and local gangster Chicago (Tom Nonnam) wants to be repaid promptly.Harry's desperation grows as he knows he'll be killed if he's unable to pay his debt but then he's presented with two opportunities to resolve his problem. Chicago promises to cancel his debt if he kills a young man called Joey (Giovanni Ribisi) who's in police custody because Chicago fears that he might give the police information about his operations in order to get a lighter sentence. Harry isn't prepared to do what Chicago wants and also refuses an offer from his unscrupulous fellow detective Mike Henshaw (Anthony LaPaglia), who's willing to kill Chicago.In order to extricate himself from the fix he's in, Harry devises a plan to relieve a nightclub owner called Louie (Giancarlo Esposito) of the considerable amount of cash that he knows he regularly keeps in his office safe. Then, with the assistance of three of his colleagues, he goes ahead with the robbery so that he can pay off Chicago and pursue his relationship with the empathetic barmaid Leila (Anjelica Huston) who he thinks provides him with his best opportunity for a better future."Phoenix" has a great soundtrack, some entertaining dialogue and well rounded characters but it's the quality of the acting that's most impressive. Harry Collins is a very troubled and psychologically complex man and Ray Liotta's portrayal of him is extremely powerful. Anthony LaPaglia is tremendous as the completely amoral Henshaw and Anjelica Huston shows the rather resigned manner and cautious nature of someone who carries the emotional scars of the past. The performances of the supporting cast are also strong and make their characters very memorable.

This was one of my (very) lucky dips into the supermarket bran-tub. It was just 50p. But it starred Ray Liotta and Angelica Huston, so it had to be worth a punt. I had never heard of it before.Big surprise. Liotta plays a detective on the skids. He's basically a decent character who is fatally flawed by the vice of gambling. We follow his life as - by turns - it deteriorates into a chaos driven by mounting debt. He has cop colleagues who are even less reliable than himself. Collectively, they present a bitterly amoral face of modern-day policing in Phoenix. This is not a feel-good movie.In crisis, he recruits 3 confidantes to rob a familiar hood, in order to pay off his debts and something to spare. It turns into slaughter. Their senior officer becomes aware of their behaviour but as well as reporting it, decides to cut a slice of the action for himself in a brutal business of corruption, double-cross and murder. There is no happy-ending.The dour characters are set against often gloomy weather and nocturnal activity, enhancing the movie's down-beat texture. Even in the desert sun they are often cast into dark relief by the harsh light.Script is suitably cynical and well-chosen. All the players fit their characters well. Anthony Lapaglia, Daniel Baldwin, Jeremy Piven et al, give excellent returns. There's no bad egg in the carton. Lighting, sound and editing are all up to the job. Four men walking abreast to a common destiny is a very old theme in cinema. We've seen it in 'Gunfight at the OK Corral', 'The Wild Bunch', 'Resevoir Dogs', and probably others.This movie lacks that touch of comic irony that lights up even the grimmest of Tarantino movies, rendering - I think - a greater sense of realism. It's dark and uncompromising; it especially reminds me of 'The Grifters', which also starred Ms Huston. I can't say better than that.This movie is definitely a collectors' item. Highly recommended.

I never heard of this movie before and caught it by chance late at night on cable TV. I, like everyone else is writing in his comments, was surprised at how well the characters were developed and how exciting the whole movie was. Of course it had some minor flaws, but overall the plot was gripping and the acting was top notch. If you have the chance to grab it on DVD, do not miss this one out. It is way better than the more infamous and similar "Copland" and, besides "Goodfellas", is one of Ray Liotta's best. Don't let the rating fool you, if it had been advertised better, it probably would have an overall rating of 7.5/10.