Focus

Will Smith's character in this movie is constantly telling everyone to not lose focus when they are pulling a con, but he is constantly ignoring his own advice. When watching a movie about con artists, you don't want to lose focus and keep up with what's going on all the time, but even if you are a seasoned vet when it comes to watching these things and you think you know what's going on, clever writing will always throw you for a loop.

This movie begins with the longest prologue to a film I have ever seen (it goes for almost half the film), where veteran conman Nicky (Smith) comes across Jess (Margot Robbie), who, despite throwing the most obvious con that every sucker knows by know and fails miserably at it, impresses Nicky so much that he decides to bring her into his crew. After a series of small cons (and one big one), Nicky cuts Jess loose because it doesn't help to get tied up in the game. Three years later, Nicky is working for Garriga (Rodrigo Santoro), a Formula 1 race car owner who wants him to misdirect his rival teams to get an advantage at the Buenos Aires Grand Prix. But when Jess turns up saying she is Garriga's girlfriend, Nicky starts to lose focus.

The script is the strongest and weakest part of this film. The cons are perfectly written and fun when they are pulled off (just as they are in any film of this nature). There is a certain satisfaction in being in on how misdirection is being used against other people, like if you were the only other person in the room who knew how a magician was about to pull off an illusion. Again there are times that you don't know how something is going to end up, but being happy and relieved when everything goes to plan. I also thought that I was going to be able to pick the climax of the film, but found that I was off by just a small margin (if a con movie can con a con man, then it's good writing). 

But the script also shows weakness. The whole romantic subplot between Nicky and Jess is such a stretch. I know that they are trying to go for mass appeal, but people can enjoy a single focus film. Also the film uses a lot of confidence terminology that might fly over most audience's heads. Hopefully everyone will know that a "mark" is a target, but when you get down to shills, salting and the like, it can get a bit fast and loose.

It's a shame as well that most of the enjoyment in the film comes from the supporting cast. Robbie and Smith are just treading the boards and saying their lines at the right point and not really offering much aside from that. Adrian Martinez and Brennan Brown, who both play members of Nicky's crew, are so good that you know that when they come on screen there is bound to be some laughs. The same is said of BD Wong's Liyuan, one of their early marks, he plays such a fun character that is unlike most of the roles he takes. Rodrigo Santoro serves amiably as the antagonist of the piece.

If you can look past the wooden leads or poor romantic undertones, Focus is a pretty solid con artist movie that will keep you guessing. While it may not be as cool as something like Oceans Eleven (and it's trying so hard to be that, if only you gave it a chance), it does have some fun schemes that are good to watch unfold.