Malone (Thomas Jane) is a gunman, good humored and hard to kill. His newest assignment turned out to be a set-up leaving him with a cryptic secret, referred to as "the meaning of love." Now Malone is being gunned down by every gangster in the city for the information. He's trying to stay low, but the bullets keep flying. If he doesn't figure out the endgame, it could mean his own end.
Yea, I know that is kinda cheesy, but it is cheesy in a good way, just like this flick. Its cheesy, noirish dialog and Sin City-esque attitude is justified by Jane and his costars of Dick Tracy-like rogues; Ving Rhames, Doug Hutchinson, and Leand Orser. Jane is in his ultimate wheelhouse as a stoic narrator and likable antihero channelling his inner Bogart, while Hutchinson and Rhames play up their typecasts as crazy dude and badass bruiser respectively. Even Elsa Pataky, who pulls down the pool of talent considerably with her constant cringe-worthy delivery, cannot hurt what really works with the rest of the cast. Most surprising is mastermind, Gregory Harrison, an actor I was not originally familiar with, is also very good and never lost a step with Jane and company.
The plot takes a number of twist and turns, but never gets bogged down. For such a small budget flick with little distribution, the plot is sound and the action is great. It starts with a shootout and keeps a decent pace throughout. It relies on the old-fashioned squips and blood packs, visuals that are usually casualty to the computer age.
"The meaning of love" is eventually revealed, ruining what could have been a fantastic MacGuffin, but it opened doors to Malone's checkered past and possible future. While it promises installments to come, I doubt it can move on so low under the radar. An annoying aspect of so many films to stay open-ended no matter how impossible those installments may be.
Overall, ...Malone is a fun throwback thriller to the classics of the '40s with Jane in a really great role. A treat for the Tarantino fans of bloody, violent ubercool substance and style.
7/10
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