Going in Style is a light-hearted but incredibly fun, and oft funny, movie that excels almost entirely on the cast charms and chemistry with one another as Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin work so well off one another, even when the script isn’t all that creative.
Going in Style
(2017)
Genre(s): Comedy, Crime
Warner Bros. | PG13 – 96 min. – $29.98 | August 1, 2017
Date Published: 08/11/2017 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 3.75/5 |
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Going in Style is the remake of, presumably, little known 1979 movie starring George Burns, Art Carney and Charles Hallahan. Based on my reading, this slightly updates the premise, but not by much. Seeing the advertisements and following my viewing, this 2017 update is exactly what one would expect. No more, no less. And, frankly, that’s a good thing. Joe Harding (MICHAEL CAINE), Willie Davis (MORGAN FREEMAN) and Albert Garner (ALAN ARKIN) are three elderly retirees who live off of a small social security check and a penchant fun for a factory plant they worked at for decades. But when the factory closes its doors with plans to move production overseas, and Joe in danger of losing his house to the bank, he’s inspired by a daring bank robbery he witnessed and ropes his two best friends to rob a bank that had absconded with their life savings as it had financed the deal with the factory.
The only problem for the trio is: they haven’t the clue where to start especially after a trial run of shoplifting at a local food market goes horribly wrong. With the help of a pet store owner (JOHN ORTIZ) with a specialty in these kinds of things, they get to work from how to set up alibis, hotwire a getaway vehicle and get in and out of the bank before the police arrive. Going in Style doesn’t really break new ground both in terms of the story or direction from Zach Braff marking his first major studio film after a few indies like Garden State and Wish I Was Here. But where the film does excel is with the charm and all around charisma of its all-star cast in the twilight of their careers and even providing weight to what are generally thinly written characters. Michael Caine is once again fantastic as the leader of the pack, Morgan Freeman is the heart of the three and Alan Arkin marks his second elderly ensemble following Stand Up Guys which was a fine film as well. The supporting cast meanwhile isn’t bad from Ann-Margaret who still looks good; Joey King proves again to be a talent who should be on the rise; Christopher Lloyd has a few funny moments as a mindless oldie; while Kenan Thompson and Matt Dillon have short and thankless roles, the latter especially who, I think, was thinly set-up as a foil for the three.
In the end, Going in Style is one of those “comfortable” kind of movies that’s not going to challenge your brain and measures up to what was advertised, heck, it’s even predictable. But with a fun cast, heartfelt moments and a comedy which, shockingly, makes you actually laugh, this is a winner of a film. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.75/5 |
| This release comes with a matted slip cover and inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy and DVD Copy. The features on this release are on the lighter side: An Audio Commentary with director Zach Braff and a set of Deleted Scenes (13:11; HD). |
VIDEO – 4.25/5 |
| Warner releases Going in Style onto Blu-ray and is presented with a 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec). As with the movie itself, this is a pleasant enough looking picture showcasing bright colors throughout, natural skin tones and I noticed no obvious signs of artifacts, aliasing or other flaws; no surprise for a recent release. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is perfectly serviceable given 95% of the movie is fully dialogue with some modest depth during the bank robbery scenes where, spoiler alert, there is some gunfire as well as a forgettable, comedy-centric clichéd score. Outside of that, however, it’s just a nice lossless track but absolutely will not give your home theater a workout. |
OVERALL – 3.5/5 |
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Overall, Going in Style is a light-hearted but incredibly fun, and oft funny, movie that excels almost entirely on the cast charms and chemistry with one another as Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin work so well off one another, even when the script isn’t all that creative in terms of the story. The Blu-ray released by Warner offers up good video/audio transfers though the features are on the lighter side. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.