Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Let me start by pointing out that most of the five-star reviews for this film are by people who suspiciously have reviewed only one movie on Amazon: this one. So possibly fake reviews aside, Charlie Valentine is a fairly average low-budget crime movie.
Pros: Raymond J. Barry delivers a great acting performance as Charlie Valentine, an aging gangster that's forced to flee town after a heist goes bad. Lisa Catara is painfully sexy as Valentine's love interest, though I was disappointed she wasn't used more in the film. There's also a great deal of eye candy thanks to a number of strip club scenes (a requirement for straight to DVD movies these days). The score for the film was surprisingly good, and the cinematography was better than most Redbox flicks.
Cons: For all of the big names that appear in this film, the overwhelming majority are underused. Tom Berenger is front and center on the DVD, despite getting a grand total of two minutes of screen time the entire movie. Keith David has a "blink and you missed him" role as well. James Russo of Donnie Brasco fame serves up a flat performance as the mob boss on the hunt for Valentine. Steven Bauer, who has packed on a good 80 pounds since filming Traffic, delivers a forgettable "where's my check" acting performance.
The trailers make the film seem so much better than it really is, and even the Amazon description of the film isn't very accurate. And for supposedly being an experienced gunslinger, Valentine constantly has his guard down around his enemies.
Charlie Valentine is worth renting just for Raymond Barry's performance alone. Otherwise, it's a run of the mill low-budget gangster flick filled with plenty of plot holes, and it doesn't really stand out. Give this one a rent before buying.
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