Will Smith and Margot Robbie team up in “Focus,” a new con artist caper set in New Orleans and Buenos Aires. Time Warner Cable News film critic Neil Rosen filed this review.
In Will Smith's latest film, he plays a con man who is at the top of his game. Margot Robbie co-stars and it is called "Focus."
Smith plays Nicky, who meets Jess, played by Robbie, while she is trying to con him. She sets up a rather amateurish sting that Nicky immediately sees through. But once Nicky calls her out, Jess asks if she can learn from the best and become his apprentice in con artistry.
Nicky teaches her some tricks of the trade and after numerous tutorials, they head off to the Super Bowl in New Orleans. It is there that Jess uses her newly honed skills to pick pockets and lift jewelry from unsuspecting tourists.
During the football game itself, Nicky , with Jess at his side, enters into a high stakes betting competition with a very eager spectator seated in their luxury suite. He is played by BD Wong.
The first half of the film, which ends after Super Bowl Sunday, is somewhat entertaining, and some of the comedic dialogue in that section also periodically hits. It is the second half of the film, set three years later in Buenos Aires, where things fall very flat. That storyline involves a Formula 1 racing king who hires Nicky to sabotage and con his competition. Jess is back in the picture too and it is a convoluted scam that fails to hold your interest.
Maybe I've seen too many great con artist movies, like “The Sting” or “House of Cards,” because the entire time I was watching “Focus,” I knew that whatever I was looking at wasn't really the whole truth. As the filmmakers continually tried to pull the wool over the audience's eyes, I saw through every con.
The writing/directing team of Glenn Ficarra and John Requa have done better work with their other films, “Crazy Stupid Love” and “I Love You Philip Morris.” Smith and Robbie do perfunctory work, but nothing exceptional here. However, the slick editing and stylish cinematography, set at numerous luxurious locales, is pleasing to watch. Overall, “Focus” is OK for a time, before it goes off the rails.
Neil Rosen’s Big Apple Rating: Two Apples