The Family

The Family (2013)
Directed by Luc Besson.

Luc Besson's films definitely have a style of their own, whether he is behind the camera, the pen, or both. While The Family fits in pretty well with the Transporter and Taken franchises, I found it much too unapologetically violent. And, to put it frankly, I didn't much care for the film.

There were some things I did like about it though. Robert De Niro did very well as the quirky ex-mobster turned writer, and his bromance with Tommy Lee Jones' perpetually exasperated Agent Stansfield was my favorite aspect of the film. Michelle Pfeiffer also performed well as the eccentric mob-wife, but beyond those three, I didn't find the other main actors (or perhaps their characters) very realistic.

The daughter, for instance, spends most of the movie kicking ass. But one glimpse of the spectacled teacher and she's so helplessly in love that she almost commits suicide when he doesn't give up his goals of being a teacher after knowing her for about a week. She says it's true love. I say it's unreasonable, poorly written, and undermines her strength as a character. And though she and her brother grew up with the mob, I find it hard to believe that they are as universally adept with firearms as the final showdown makes it seem.

But the film's biggest offense was that it failed to make me care about the characters.

What did you think about the Manzonis?

3 out of 5 stars.
Viewed September 17, 2013 at LOOK Cinemas Prestonwood Dallas, TX.

Weekend Preview: Family Feud

Mob family versus haunted family. Luc Besson's The Family infiltrates 3,091 theaters while horror sequel Insidious Chapter 2 will try to scare audiences into 3,049 theaters this weekend.

Director James Wan has already had a great 2013, with scarer The Conjuring scoring an impressive $41 million opening on its way to a $134 million current total. Wan's first Insidious chapter opened two years ago with $13 million and ended its run with $54 million domestically. That film holds a 66% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but one crucial difference might spell disaster for Chapter 2: release date. The first film opened in April and played well through the summer. Chapter 2 on the other hand comes on the heels of a very good summer for horror: the top five horror films for the year have grossed about $352 million so far. So are audiences interested in another horror sequel after spending so much on original films like The Conjuring, Mama, and The Purge? Considering that only one more horror film is currently scheduled to be released nationwide for the rest of the year, Chloë Grace Moretz's Carrie remake, I think Chapter 2's chances aren't so hot. It won't match its predecessor's $13 million opening weekend and will probably have a hard time reaching $10 million.

Luc Besson is best known for his Transporter and Taken series, as well as cult sci-fi hit The Fifth Element (though not everyone is a fan of it.) His recent original films haven't fared as well, with both Lockout and Columbiana flopping domestically. Besson wrote and produced those films, so The Family is his first directorial effort to be receive a wide release domestically since his 2006 film Arthur and the Invisibles (which flopped domestically with $15 million.) The Family definitely has to contend with Besson's spotty domestic record (outside of the series mention above), but he usually is able to make up for that with worldwide performance. With a cast consisting of Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Tommy Lee Jones the film should make around $15 million, but its end of summer release date will probably hold it below $10 million.

Tune in next week for Hugh Jackman's abduction thriller Prisoners and yet-another-dance-movie Battle of the Year.