Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Ed-Shullivan Retired NFL Hall Of Famer Jim Brown, and an all star cast including the likes of Diahann Carroll, Donald Sutherland, Ernest Borgnine, Walter Matthau, Warren Oates, Julie Harris, James Whitmore, and even with eye candy Joyce Jameson could not hold my attention long enough in this rather drab action/crime film. I guess the producers felt with the salaries they were spending on an all star cast the movie couldn't help but be a box office bonanza. Unfortunately a weak and an overdone and predictable script outweighed the star power featured in this slow moving action/crime film.Jim Brown sets out to first test and then recruit his band of four (4) crime specialists which takes up the first 30 minutes of the film's storyline. The next 30 minutes or so is where it gets really boring as this crew of crime specialists sets out to rob the LA Coliseum while the NFL Los Angeles Rams are on the field playing the Green Bay Packers. Sounds interesting doesn't it? Don't hold your breath. This part of the film was a snorefest.Now we get to the latter half of the film where the gang is supposed to split their heist six ways, equal shares including one share for Julie Harris for financing the heist. But wait...someone kills the only innocent party who is holding the money for the mastermind thief Jim Brown, and accidentally the murderer stumbles upon Jim Brown's heist money, a cool $550,0000.00. So the gang turns on each other and are really peeved at Jim Brown because they think he double crossed them all. Sound like a familiar plot? Oh Yeah. Although the crimes intended location is different, an NFL football stadium (to encourage fans of the NFL's Hall Of Famer running back and film star Jim Brown to see this film) compared to the 1960's Ocean's 11 film in which the heist takes place in a Las Vegas Casino. The two films comparison ends right there.The best part of the film was the music score by Quincy Jones. Other than that the film would be a pass for me. Disappointing to say the least.I give it a 4 out of 10 rating.

seymourblack-1 Donald E Westlake's series of Parker novels (written under the pseudonym, Richard Stark) has been a rich source of material for filmmakers and the author's hard-boiled anti-hero has an appeal that seems to transcend time. Curiously, in most of the movies, Parker's name has been changed with him featuring as Walker in "Point Blank" (1967), Macklin in "The Outfit" (1973) and Porter in "Payback" (1999). In "The Split" he appears as McClain (Jim Brown), a professional thief who returns to L.A. after an absence of some years to work with his old friend Gladys (Julie Harris) in planning a major football stadium robbery.With their plan formulated and Gladys providing the financial backing, McClain identifies some possible recruits for their gang and puts each one through a challenge to make sure that they have the skills required to carry out the heist successfully. Tough guy, Bert Clinger (Ernest Borgnine), getaway driver Harry Kifka (Jack Klugman), safe-cracker Marty Gough (Warren Oates) and hit-man Dave Negli (Donald Sutherland) all come up to standard and the robbery of the ticket money from a sold-out Rams game at the L.A. Coliseum is soon put into action.The brilliantly-executed heist enables the gang to make off with more than $500,000 which McClain leaves with his ex-wife Ellie (Diahann Carroll). She agrees to keep the loot in her apartment and he intends to split the money between everyone in the gang on the following day. This arrangement hits an unforeseen problem when Ellie's lecherous landlord Herb Sutro (James Whitmore), tries to rape her, before killing her and stealing the money. Detective Lieutenant Walter Brill (Gene Hackman) soon deduces who'd killed Ellie and after shooting Sutro takes the stolen money which he then keeps in his own possession.None of the gang-members believe that the stolen money has simply disappeared and after having been subjected to some vicious treatment, McClain manages to escape and then co-operates with Brill on a violent course of action which enables them both to achieve their personal objectives.The 1960s was a low-point in the history of film noir primarily because the style was not really compatible with the general optimism of that decade. "The Split" is one of the best noir offerings of the period because of its plot (which begins routinely but really comes to life in third act), its well-directed action sequences and Burnett Guffrey's wonderful cinematography. It also boasts a superb cast of actors who are all excellent individually and collectively.Jim Brown's McClain is interesting because in the earlier parts of the movie he seems to be a natural leader with a quiet authority but his actions after he co-operates with Brill, bring out another aspect of his character which is both surprising and credible. Warren Oates provides the pick of the supporting performances, the high-point of which is a hilarious scene in a bar where he gets picked up by a prostitute. Quincy Jones' score and the title song by Billy Preston are also enjoyable and very much in keeping with the time in which the story's set.

highwaytourist When I looked at the excellent actors gathered together, I couldn't wait to see it. The premise of a robbery at the Colleseum during the Superbowl added to my high expectations. To my surprise, what I got was a dreary and routine melodrama in which none of the characters were interesting. Even the robbery itself was nothing that hadn't been done better elsewhere. A made for TV flick with a cast of unknowns could have it just as well. What happens after the robbery will surprise no one who hasn't seen this type of movie before, only it's not all that believable. As for the actors? Well, of course they perform well enough, but don't achieve the greatness they had in other roles. Watching this film is kind of like gathering The Beatles and having them perform "Chopsticks."

dima-12 Star and a half Maltin review is a bit discouraging for watching THE SPLIT. And yet it`s great to say that Maltin is horribly wrong in his case, sibce THE SPLIT delivers loads of cool soft-noir.Gordon Flemyng, the British film and TV veteran shapes a posh and groovy heist flick about a post robbery split gone bad. The cast is masterful, Jim Brown does a great Wastlake/Stark character up there with Lee Marvin in POINT BLANK and Mel Gibson in THE PAYBACK. The rest of the cast includes such hard-asses like Gene Hackman, Donald Sutherland, Warren Oates and Ernest Borgnine. So the movie emanates great energy on screen and Flemyng cuts it with typical British elegance, smart and sharp decisions. Maybe THE SPLIT felt too calculated to Maltin, but to me, it represents the era when Hollywood entertainment still managed to assuredly deliver the authentic exploitation of a formula.