Title: The Big Bang
Directed by: Tony Krantz
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Filliam Fichtner, Delroy Lindo, Sam Elliott, James Van Der Beek and Snoop Dogg
Running Time: 101 minutes, Unrated, Available on Blu-Ray
Private Investigator Ned Cruz (Antonio Banderas) is hired by a former heavyweight ex con to find his missing stripper girlfriend Lexi Persimmon, who also knows the location of a cache of $30 million in blood diamonds. All the clues to find the girl lead to an eccentric billionaire (Sam Elliott) who is determined to recreate the Big Bang along with discovering the God Particle.
My first reaction when watching the opening credits was: James Van Der Beek?! His total screentime in the film is probably less than 5 minutes and it was a shame they had to cut it down, but his performance was preserved in the DVD extended scenes. Snoop Dogg’s porn director character had maybe a total of 3 minutes of screentime, but hilarious nonetheless.
I do feel that the film maybe had too many characters to keep track of, but you could tell the writer didn’t have the heart to cut any of them; especially the waitress who has a fetish for particle physics, played by Autumn Reeser. She was a fun character, but her presence wasn’t really required. However her nude scenes would be cause for debate on her character’s necessity.
I have to admit I really enjoyed this film. The plot was very smart and script had lots of great one-liners. The best line in the movie is when Cruz describes an Albino little person who meets a fiery demise: “A white dwarf gone supernova.” The action was great and because of the science involved, I felt smarter for watching the film. I recommend this as good mystery-action flick to add to your collection.
Action: B+
Story: A-
Acting: B+
Total Rating: B+
Reviewed by JM Willis
Antonio Banderas and Sienna Guillory in The Big Bang
