Foolproof - Ausgetrickst

5 June 2005. this no name, no budget mystery caper surprisingly is a solid piece of film-making with an excellent plot twist, taut writing and acting along with a good music track. There is a delightful laid back transition into a more sinister scenario along with a few spicy scenes that never become over the top. Somewhat manipulative in places, but not really more than most mystery thriller genre movies. The characters could have been more refined and restrained in a few places, but overall this a good "see" if one is looking for something exciting when it comes to crime films - a sort of mini Oceans 11 or 12 on a smaller scale without all the big action. Seven out of Ten Stars.

This movie was outstanding! Clever, funny, exciting, and Canadian. I'm quite proud to see this film on the big screen. I'm even more proud of the fact that the film makers decided to base the story in Toronto. Too often has Toronto doubled for other cities in films, it was refreshing to see the "T dot O" being its good old self.

Until I saw this movie, Ocean's 11 (the remake, not the boring original) was hands-down favourite heist movie. In my opinion, FoolProof is practically dead even with Ocean's 11 on sheer cleverness. I don't want to spoil anything, but suffice it to say that the plot surrounding the heist and the "thieves by mistake" is brilliant, twisting, and...foolproof!

The characters were expertly played, with Ryan Reynolds really shining in his performance. He came across as smart, quirky, and of course very funny. His comic timing blended very well with the tense heist drama.

The great part about FoolProof is that, unlike Ocean's 11, it didn't try to hype itself up with some veteran all-star cast to try and sell more tickets. Ryan Reynolds has significant star power, but I'm not sure if the fratboy fans who say Van Wilder will warm up to this much more dynamic role. Only time will tell I suppose. Either way, if you're a Canadian, support your film industry and check out this stellar movie!

Foolproof was the largest domestic opening for a Canadian film. Roughly 2 million in prints and advertising was wasted on what was a truly an abysmal caper film. I was hoping for it to do well, felt the need to cheer for the cinematic home team but after seeing it I tried to understand why so much money was sunk into a film without a chance. AT the heart of the story lies a trio of friends led by the talented Canadian export Ryan Reynolds. They stage "foolproof" capers as a fun thing to do as friends. This was the first script obstacle which was terribly wonky and hard to get over but we move on. Enter bad guy, played with the stereotypical menace by David Souchet, another good actor whose talents were wasted by the director. What ensues is a ridiculous story which is so poorly written that the film can't possibly survive it's own running time. It tries to be a high impact crime caper full of twists and turns. The problem is that like many great caper films, the script has to be airtight. This script was no where near production ready. Another problem is that Foolproof didn't have the budget that caper films require in order to be successful. They blew their load on one or two scenes and the rest of the film looks like a TV movie. It's sad that this film died such a public death. It makes it so much harder for other Canadian films to get out there. While I admire the risk taken on Foolproof's domestic release, I'm saddened that they blew a bunch of cash releasing a mediocre film, that never had a chance.

I loved this movie.

Foolproof is a pretty intelligent caper film that rises above standard caper/action movies that you get from, say, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Acting: It was very good, but the acting from Ryan Reynolds was great. I found his delivery perfect for the role.

Script: The script was fairly intelligent but fell into a few standard-caper-script holes in a few spots. Overall the script maintained its character through the interpersonal banter, particularly with Reynolds.

Soundtrack: Excellent. Perhaps the greatest complement to an intelligent movie is a groovy soundtrack that helps keep the momentum of the film going. This soundtrack is groovy. Think Ocean's Eleven with George Clooney.

Plausibility: Well, here we have problems. Don't think this is realistic, just be thankful you don't have Arnie flying a Harrier jet. Hey, it's as plausible as Ocean's Eleven.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie, and I would happily recommend it to almost anyone.

8/10

Finally, a heist movie that doesn't have any noticeable plot holes, intriguing concept, and for Canadian viewers, doesn't attempt to hide a major Canadian city as somewhere in America.

Normally, I'm put off by action movies because of the plot holes and repetitiveness of so many of them. So "Foolproof" came as a pleasant treat- there is a MAJOR twist in the plot that you will just have to watch for yourself.

Watching "Foolproof" was like reading a nice mystery novel on a winter afternoon, (as it happens, I saw this movie on a snowy afternoon!)

If this is the future of Canadian film, more please!