DVD Movie Review | Criminal Activities (Lights, Camera, Action!)

Criminal Activities (UK Rating: 15)

When four friends are reunited at a funeral, one of them reveals he's had a tip-off about an investment that could make a huge amount of money. The drawback is that he doesn't have the cash to take advantage of it, but one member of the group knows how to lay his hands on the necessary amount, so they all invest and soon find themselves high and dry when the company goes bust. Worse still, the loan came from the mob, and now the four are faced with some unpalatable choices.

For a film that sets out to be hard-boiled and stylish, it's given itself some mountains to climb. For starters, the title is remarkably anodyne, one that could be attached to any crime thriller under the sun: it's so bland that it smacks of the makers wanting the film to quietly slip in under the radar. Get past that, and its major hurdle quickly becomes apparent - it's seriously derivative.

Screenwriter Robert Lowell is clearly a Tarantino fan. His script goes some way in trying to recreate the distinctive style, but doesn't get anything like close enough for it to be considered an homage. The majority of the storyline is set within 24 hours and somebody very nearly has their ear cut off. Ring any bells? Lowell doesn't confine his admiration to Tarantino, though, as he obviously likes a certain Bryan Singer film, as well, although his ability to lay out a puzzle at the outset doesn't reach the same level of skill. It's only during the film's climax that it becomes apparent that something more is going on and that somebody on-screen is essentially a poor man's Keyser Soze.

5/10

Average

It may not be as colourless as its title, but Criminal Activities is indeed a pale imitation of the classics it continually references. As debuts behind the camera go, Haley has delivered something fair to middling. Resisting the temptation to be in front of the camera, and picking a script with more originality, would give a clearer impression of his directing chops. As it stands, they are falling behind his abilities as an actor.