Thanks for the memories!

Excellent but underrated film

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Mixed feelings. Too much if left to chance and movie convenience. Not much is justified here and the decision to be a comedy or action drama interwtines so much that it leaves you still wondering at the end...

Isn't it funny, how the movies you really don't expect much out of, turn out to be the most fun. Bobby Z wasn't something that was high on my list of things to see, but it was streaming and fit my mood, so I watched it and what a surprise, a well written, Action film, with a pretty good plot! Bobby Z is a legendary local crime boss in Southern California. He is a very elusive man that the Mexican drug lords go to extreme measures to find. Don Huertero (Joaquim de Almeida) has kidnapped an FBI agent and will only exchange him for Bobby Z, but there's a problem, Bobby Z is dead. The clever folks at the FBI decide to find someone who looks like Z and send him in, that man is Tim Kearney (Paul Walker), and his life depends on how well he can trick people into believing that he is Bobby Z, a man he's never met. Paul Walker is the star of this clever film and he does a tremendous job. I'm not fan of Walker's, whenever he does anything that isn't a gritty Action film, he stinks, fortunately this is a gritty Action film and he was engaging, delightful, and even funny as he tried to play someone he's not. As for the rest of the cast, it was certainly a unique mix of people, but being centered around one man and one goal, really made it work. It's unusual to find a deep plot in an Action film and that's why this film was so unique. Aside from some terrific stunts and fight scenes, there were twists and turns, crosses and double-crosses, even some humor. Bobby Z was really a lot of fun to watch, and it will keep you guessing while at the same time showing you some terrific action sequences, I was more than impressed by this film and by Paul Walker for that matter. It's easy to say, well he's been playing an undercover agent in The Fast & Furious for a decade now, but it certainly wasn't the same thing. The Death & Life of Bobby Z is a wild ride, that's a lot of fun, and it will keep you guessing, you can't ask for more than that.

A convicted felon is used as a substitute for a drug dealer by law enforcement in an attempt to trade for an undercover officer being held by a drug baron. All the clichés are there, crooked cops, clueless felon, hairy bikers, sociopath drug baron, innocent child victim, Judas friend and a bad girl seeking redemption. This one has the whole lineup. Not particularly believable story with a plot line that does not really hang together particularly well and really lacks substance. Not a bad movie that I would ridicule people for participating in but it is definitely a straight to DVD B-Grader.How the mighty have fallen, from the Matrix to this for Laurence Fishburne, who would have to recognize he is on the way down if he is taking on projects of this caliber. Olivia Wilde on the other hand is stunning, although more than a little lacking in emotive range and is hopefully using this as a vehicle on the way up as she develops.I am beginning to suspect Paul Walker only has one character in his range and I just hope he makes enough money off that before the gravy train derails. This is worth watching but set the bar low before you start, and savor Olivia Wilde's eyes because that is about the best thing that is going to happen on screen in this piece of cinema.

How this story of freeing a deadly criminal from prison to act as a stand-in for an at large criminal (Bobby Z) to bring revenge and closure to corruption on every level of the playing field can continue to be reproduced ad infinitum will remain a puzzle. This tired, poorly acted, hyper kinetic desert film wastes the talent of some good actors, gives plenty of killings to watch, and then introduces counterfeit kindness as a reason for making the film, is a movie to avoid.Paul Walker is the released Bobby Z look-alike who will be freed from his life in prison by Laurence Fishburne's cop image if he merely shows up in Mexico as bait for drug lord Joaquin de Almeida's hostage demands for Fishburne's partner. Of course it all goes wrong at the exchange point, allowing the fake Bobby Z to find a female interest (Olivia Wilde) as well as a little boy (J.R. Villarreal) who is supposedly the son of the real Bobby Z (and therefore is taken in by the fake Bobby Z), and the rest is just a messy chase sequence and series of killings and kidnappings. The bad guys outnumber the good guys, and, well the rest is yesterday's sandwich. Not recommended even if there is nothing else on the shelves to rent! Grady Harp