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32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Smart screenplay, Superbly entertaining, Great chemistry!, December 6, 2009
The one thing I regret about this film is that I didn't get the opportunity to see it in a theater. I'm truly puzzled by the negative reviews on Amazon.
This isn't a film to watch while you're doing something else; fixing dinner, checking your emails, etc. The screenplay was brilliant and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I never lost interest, not for one moment. Clive and Julia have terrific chemistry and I loved the dialogue.
This film plays to an intelligent audience and it keeps you on your toes. I've watched so many films where the ending is predictable. There was nothing predictable about "Duplicity". It may have you feeling that you've nailed it, only to turn around and pull the rug out from under your feet.
I'm very selective about the films I actually choose to purchase. When I finished watching this last night, I knew I had to have my own copy and I want one with all of the bells and whistles, including interviews with the Director, Producer, actors, etc. I'm watching it again tonight and that's a rave for me!
I love Clive Owen and he has some really memorable lines. It's great to see Julia Roberts back in full force. She's as stunning as ever and plays this role with great finesse.
If you want an action paced thriller (ho hum), this isn't your movie. No graphic sex scenes either but lots of great sexual chemistry. I hope to see Clive & Julia team up again soon.
The entire cast is brilliant! Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson fit their roles like a pair of old shoes. I don't know how anyone could find this film boring. I found it suspenseful and I was on the edge of my seat more than once. There is nothing predictable about this film. It has elements of "Sting", one of my favorite films of all time. Duplicity is absolutely one of my favorite films of '09!
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54 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Love Clive Owen But Not In This Film, August 14, 2009
I found this film very confusing. I realize it is an elaborate spy vs. spy in a corporate espionage matter. One spy is Julia Roberts and the other is Clive Owen. At first it seems like she is the one with the upper hand as she rolls him after one wild night. Then the scene shifts and he has gotten one over on her. They leap in and out of bed at various points because they are wildly attracted to one another.
It didn't work for me. If sparks were jumping between these two, if love and lust were in the air between them, I couldn't sense it. So there were two things we were supposed to care about: would Julia and Clive get together and, secondly, which of their clients would win in the spy war? More than an hour into this film, I realized I did not care about the resolution of either issue. I stopped watching it, I was that bored.
I am not a huge fan of Julia Roberts although I think she is talented. She just rarely does it for me as a romantic interest. Conversely, I LOVE Clive Owen and it is very rare for me to be bored with him. I also really liked CLOSER which also featured Owen and Roberts. They didn't need wild attraction to one another in that film though.
Much to my surprise, the NEW YORK TIMES absolutely loved this movie. Its review found this movie a stunning pairing of Roberts and Owen plus the spy scenario vastly entertaining. Its review says, "It's a caper movie, a love story -- with Clive Owen and Julia Roberts, no less -- an extra-dry corporate satire. However you describe it, 'Duplicity' is superior entertainment, the most elegantly pleasurable movie of its kind to come around in a very long time." I was shocked to read this. I read the whole review and it's as if we were seeing two different movies! So go over and read that review if you are still interested in this film.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sparks Fly as You Wonder Who is Playing Who, March 1, 2010
I have to admit going into this movie I expected a lot of action, chase scenes and flying bullets. What else was I to expect from the man who wrote the screenplay for the three Bourne movies. Plus, Tony Gilroy's directing debut Michael Clayton also led me to believe I'd be seeing something very different up there on the big screen.
This is kind of a spy movie, with an ingenious plot to be sure, but it's a romantic comedy as well. I'm used to seeing Julia Roberts in these kinds of roles, but I'm used to seeing her in action movies too. Not much action in this film. No Jason Bourne character here. In fact the only real action in this movie is the slow motion fight between two oldster corporate execs played by Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson. These two guys hate each other, head mega corporations, are arch rivals and will stop at nothing to sink the other guy's company.
And that's where the Julia Robert's character and the Clive Owen character come it. They're ex-spies (the real deal, CIA her, MI6 him) who are in the business of corporate espionage and who seem to be on again and off again romantically. She's undercover in one firm and he's running her for the other, but they're really in business for themselves, looking for the big score and before you're thinking shades of Ocean's Eleven I have to say this is a deliciously good movie. Not anything like I expected, but wonderful nonetheless.
Julia Roberts just keeps getting better, way more than just a pretty face. The chemistry sparks between her and Clive Owen, so much so that you can feel the heat, even when you're not supposed to.
As for the story, I was confused at first, but after I bit I realized Mr. Gilroy was confusing me on purpose and he did a fine job of it, leading right where he wanted me to go. And he really surprised me with the ending, not what I expected at all. A perfect cap to this fine film where you never really know who is playing who.
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