FOCUS movie review

Will Smith stars as con man Nicky’s, when he meets a woman (Margot Robbie) from his past – now an accomplished femme fatale – shows up and throws his plans for a loop; Read our exclusive review of the film below.

FOCUS exclusive movie review - MARKMEETS — FOCUS exclusive movie review – MARKMEETS

“Sitting in a bar Nicky is picked up by con-enthusiast Jess, unfortunately what she doesn’t know is he’s a well-established professional in the game. Nicky takes her under his wing to up her game where she learns the subtleties of keeping the mark focused. Unfortunately, when Nicky is employed by Owens (the owner of a circuit race-car company) to improve his chances of finishing first, Jess gets to demonstrate just how much she has improved, but to what cost?

What can I say about Focus? This script is perfect for Will Smith and Margot Robbie. Although both of these actors were not originally cast for the main roles, their on screen chemistry works really well.

Will Smith, Margot Robbie - FOCUS — Will Smith, Margot Robbie – FOCUS

Nicky (Will Smith) has a very charming personality and is played with just the right amount of ego to be passionate but not smarmy. It could almost be said that Smith’s previous history of film successes have set him up for this role as you can notice little hints from his filmography in this one film.

This fits with Margot’s character, Jess who goes from naïve, in love, in control and ending with an intense finale. She even said herself “Its really nice to have a character that has one starting point and is a totally different person by the end of the film”.

The whole cast work spectacularly well together with the likes of Brennan Brown, Rodrigo Santoro and Gerald McRaney, though the one to look out for is Adrian Martinez who plays Farhad.

For me, he’s the one makes this film. He is the one working behind the scenes making Nicky look like the king. Martinez does all of this so light heartedly and makes it look easy at the same time. If anyone makes you consider a career as a con-artist Martinez/Farhad should be your inspiration.

One of my favorite things to do is to watch a film and listen to the soundtrack, it can remind you of the fun times, keep you hooked in an intense moment and even stop to show just how unsexy Margot can be. This film has all of that, and combines it with stunning fly over shots of the USA and Buenos Aires. I hope Xavier Grobet enjoyed filming this as much as I did watching it. Except for the one club scene. This is probably my biggest grumble: when you have a good theme of light salsa music through out the film, heard in the bongos in Sympathy for the Devil or accompanied the beautiful voice of Dean Martin, keep it going!

On the theme of things not fitting as they should, I’m really not sure of the title of this film. When reading blurbs, or watching trailers for this film you know it’s about keeping the attention of the mark whereas this is a typical Smith film. That isn’t a bad thing, maybe its focus could have been more of an intricate plot line to earn its title.

If you are a fan of any of the name in this film I would recommend getting yourself a ticket, if you want a comfortable date with a special someone get two! This is a classic Will Smith film, as charming as Nicky himself, I walked out with smile on my face and nostalgic wish to watch a few more of Smith’s films. Watching him on screen with Margot Robbie, working so well together, has also got me very excited to see how these roles contrast with their future parts in the Suicide Squad!”

THE MOVIE IS IN UK CINEMAS FEB 27TH.

Written by Chuckie @ChuckieGinger exclusively for MARKMEETS.COM

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Brian Ferdinando aka Chuckie joined us and has delivered outstanding work. The Gaming Vlogger is a sharp hand with a camera (In front and behind it) with slick editing skills too.

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