City of Industry
City of Industry
R | 14 March 1997 (USA)
City of Industry Trailers

A retired thief swears revenge on the lunatic who murdered his brother and partner, while going on the run with the loot they stole.

Reviews
BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See
ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.
Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
bpress54-212-5197 Whoever decided that Tim Hutton, Wade Domniguez, and especially Stephen Dorff would play believable bad guys is clearly an idiot. Dorff is nothing but a punk no talent jack wipe. I'd be more afraid of a rabid deer mouse than I would be of this little candy a** douche bag. And Keitel is kind of wash; he plays the same Type A a**hole in all of his roles. And as if anyone would be worried by a dude like him.
elshikh4 No doubt it's catchy, incisive and coming to the point as no-nonsense movie. I loved the cast. (Famke Janssen)'s performance and beauty (her hair was exceptional !), (Harvey Keitel)'s silent mountainous anger, and (Stephen Dorff)'s attitude; they did the job finely. And I loved some scenes as well; like (Keitel) exploding with pain in a closed room, or getting out with the laptop debonairly, (Dorff) screaming devilishly (Rooooyyyy).. but as a whole it wasn't all flawless.Firstly, there are no depths, if you would think that that was a shortcoming. I mean the relationship between the lead and the woman was poor. Surely it doesn't need to develop into a romance, but with another treatment it could have been more memorable or touchy. However according to the movie's character as "another violent crime movie" it's the small shortcoming.Now medium shortcoming : the title. (City of Industry) fits a documentary more than a crime movie; especially this crime movie. The time that we have watched got nothing to do with a title of that kind. It's just a way to describe the background of the events with no serious shadows. I hate when they allege a meaning or a singularity by only a strange, outwardly profound, title !Then the X Large shortcoming : the theft. This is unquestionably the stupidest heist in the history of mankind. How they went to steal a bank in the high noon with no masks, no gloves, and no disguise or whatsoever ??!! If there were no cameras recording them, what about the people themselves ??! Shame on this movie makers and cast as well. This is, sorrowfully, pure nonsense ! It's half heist, half revenge movie. Great ? No. Average ? Yes. Watchable and satisfying ? Of course.
Roger Burke Harvey Keitel is so good as an actor, it's difficult to find words suitable to praise. And, even when playing a bad guy, he always manages to show the human side of even the worst of types...Because, make no mistake, in this story he's a tough minded, no-nonsense killer, Roy Egan, out to settle a score – the psychopathic wheel-man, after the diamond heist just completed, has killed Egan's brother, Lee (Timothy Hutton) and a buddy, Jorge (Wade Dominquez) and run off with the loot. Hence, Roy sets out to find the wheel-man Skip (Stephen Dorff), kill him and recover that loot – now converted to cash.Yes, this type of story has been done many times: Point Blank (1967), its remake Payback (1999) and many other similar films. But, the attraction for a story about righting an injustice never fades, even if it is between gangsters and all. And, this is also where we can all revel lustily in the bad guys getting what's coming to them – and not feel guilty about our own atavistic desires. Catharsis never had it so good...Although, some of the scenes are very bloody, so this is not a movie for the faint of heart or stomach. Which makes the ending all the more curious and almost out of place – as if to say that even from the worst of situations, some good will come to those who deserve it. Like there's always a silver lining?Well-photographed and edited, in and around Los Angeles, the action rarely stops for a breather, and rightly so. The music soundtrack would appeal to some, but not this viewer; that from To Live and Die in LA (1985), for example, was much better. All of the actors were well cast, although it was a surprise to see Hutton in a real bad guy role. As the wheel man Skip, Stephen Dorff steals the show, no question – a great act.If you like the tough gangster act, then run and get this one. You'll love it...as I did.But, what a title!!
winner55 I really dislike Stephen Dorf in all but one role in one movie - and this isn't it (I'm referring to Cecil B. Demented).But what this story loses with Dorf's unnecessary hamminess, it picks up in Harvey Keitel's exquisite performance as a professional jewel thief on his last job, who suddenly finds everything shot to hell due to the greedy Dorf character - including his brother.There are indeed problems with this movie, but the essential grittiness the script calls for remains, which thus leaves Keitel in his element, and he does fine .Oh, the film also has a naked Lucy Liu before she became famous, and besides being very hot, she does a fine job in a bit part as an abused former mistress of the Dorf-guy. You know you've got a future star on screen when it's a small role and you wanna shout - "wait! not enough! more of this on!" And I admit that despite her splashy roles over the past couple of years, I still think the perfect role is still waiting for her, and her fans are still waiting to see it.