Generally, for a movie to be interesting, things have to happen. When nothing happens in a movie, most of the time it is a boring movie. That is the case with the Score. It rides off the fact that it has a great cast, but forgets to have a story. A movie cannot be just plot, there needs to be story and have the plot serve the story. The Score is a heist movie, and that's really about all it is. If a whole movie that just depicts a heist happening, then great, you will love this movie. If you are like me, and like to see a story and have stuff happen, then you will probably be bored to tears with this.

The plot is simply about an aging criminal Nick who wants out of the game and manage his own club, and settle down with his girlfriend Diane. His boss Max has one last job for him. Nick refuses saying he is done, Max eventually gets him to agree, but only after he raises Nick’s cut from four million to six. Assisting the Nick with the heist is up and comer, Jack, who has been working as a janitor and pretending to be mentally impaired to get access. The Score for them is a priceless royal sector.

That's pretty much it, and still the movie somehow manages to be just over two hours long. It drags, and has terrible pacing. The first thirty minutes could essentially be cut from the film or at least condensed into half that time, and the movie would be much better. The rest of the movie never really picks up or gets interesting until the last ten minutes. We actually get some stakes raised and see conflict happening. Conflict is what makes movies interesting and when there is none, the movie will suffer from that. Conflict in the Score is basically nonexistent. Even the few tense scenes throughout feel like nothing, and give us no reason to care. The last ten minutes actually do a decent job at creating a level of tension and conflict. Unfortunately this does not last long and is about two hours too late. And not only that, but when things finally get interesting, it leads you to believe there will be a good ending from all of this. Wrong, this movie has one of the worst endings I have ever seen, it is the cheesiest, corniest, most unoriginal ending. I would expect it to be in some fifties romantic movie. Basically, it’ is Nick and Diane walking off in the sunset at an airport. Apparently they had about four or five endings to go with, and that was the one they used; it really makes you wonder what they were thinking.

Judging from the cast, you would at least expect a powerhouse of acting. Again you would be wrong. Robert De Niro is one of the greatest actors of all time. He looks like he is sleepwalking here. He has no emotion and just looks completely bored, and I can't say I blame him. Marlon Brando, who is also one of the greatest actors of all time, is here. He is not in it much and he isn’t as bad as De Niro, but you can tell he isn't taking his role seriously. The scenes with him and De Niro don't feel memorable and both actors just look like their phoning in performances. The one actor who is great here is Edward Norton. He puts everyone to shame and makes everyone look like armatures. Edward Norton gives such an energetic performance and looks like he is having a blast; he is what makes the movie watchable. He is defiantly not as accomplished as De Niro or Brando, but in this movie, he out acts them and everyone else. Angela Basset shows up, in her rather pointless role. She's fine I guess, is't really given good material to go on. That's about it for the cast, two of the greatest actors of their generation and nothing, Norton is great, that’s about it.

I think I get what the movie was going for judging from the special features. I think they just wanted to make a heist movie that was about the heist. And while, that is not a terrible idea, it just does not work on screen. Maybe if it was a cooler heist, or they made it more interesting it would work, but the basic idea is executed very poorly. The thing I liked about the movie was the score, which is kind of ironic since that is the title of the movie. Anyways, it was pretty well orchestrated and gave the movie at least something of a personality. It made boring scenes seem at least a little intense and interesting. It does sound a little familiar, so I am not sure if I have heard it before, but regardless it sounds good.

I found the Score to be an incredibly boring movie devoid of any emotion and conflict. Sure the final ten minutes are kind of cool and have a few decent twists, but it is too little too late and cannot excuse the last two hours. Someday, I would like to see a cool movie just about the heist, but I do not think that is going to come anytime soon. Not even a stellar cast can save this movie, especially with De Niro looking like he wants to take a nap, and Brando looking like he did this for fun and gave no effort. Edward Norton is awesome, and is the only reason for the two star rating. If you want a good heist movie, I would recommend Oceans 11, The Bank Job, or Inside Man, all are much more interesting and fun to watch. This is only useful if you cannot sleep at night, and even then I would not recommend it.

1.5 stars rounded up (just barely)

Cast

Robert De Niro... Nick Wells

Edward Norton... Jack Teller

Marlon Brando... Max

Angela Basset... Diane

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age