Cast: Will Smith is back in a leading role in an original movie. I won't bother tracking how long it's been since that happened. Suffice it to say that it's been too long. He's back to his old ways, not far removed from the Hitch character. Margot Robbie is the lead female. She isn't as defined by her onscreen persona, so she gets to craft her own character, and it's a familiar one for the genre. Adrian Martinez gets a memorable supporting role. Veterans Gerald McRaney (House of Cards), Rodrigo Santoro (LOST), BD Wong (Law and Order: SVU), and Brennan Brown round out the cast.
Plot: Nicky (Smith) is a con man. Jess (Robbie) is an aspiring con woman. Nicky decides to take her under his wing and she plays a big part in a weekend of Super Bowl cons, until they ultimately go their separate ways. Fast forward a few years. Nicky is working over a Formula 1 owner in Buenos Aires and discovers that Jess is with him now. She says she's out of the game. He doesn't believe her. Several twists later, The End. In other words, it's a standard heist/con movie.
Elephant in the Room: Is it clever or convoluted? What sets a good heist movie apart from a great one is how well planned it all is. I remember being completely turned off by Now You See Me because the plans were completely ridiculous and relied heavily on luck. Ocean's Eleven, on the other hand, is an all-time favorite, largely due to how well executed the plan is. Focus, is a bit more the former than the latter. Its saving grace is that it admits that plans don't always work as you'd like, and the ability to lie you way out of a corner, however messy, is essential. It doesn't mean the movie isn't bailed out by a little luck a time or two, but it makes it a bit more forgivable than saying "he probably would've done x, so we can base all our planning on that".
To Sum Things Up:
Focus gives the people what they want. There's shirtless Will Smith wise-cracking and acting like a movie star. There's Margot Robbie wearing swimsuits and more than holding her own with Smith. There's several cons and twists that keep you guessing (even if it's the "I'm pretty sure this is where they are going, but I'm not sure" kind). My big issue with it is that it peaks (by a lot) at the end of the first act and nothing in Buenos Aires comes close to that part. As a whole, it still delivers exactly what it promises.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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