Customer Reviews

Formula 51

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I'll skip the plot summary, and I won't pretend to be a film critic. I'm just a regular guy, and I love this movie. Set in Liverpool, England, some of us "Yanks" might not get all of the humor. Having been to England, I got most of it. It's funny, has some good action, and the story is pretty good. Robert Carlisle is one of the best under-recognized actors in entertainment today. Sam Jackson, in a kilt...who woulda thunk it? The whole cast seems to have pretty good chemistry. If you have a couple of hours, and you're looking for a pretty good flick to pop in, get this one.

This is one of those films that you can watch once ,put down for a few weeks/months,and on a Friday,or Saturday night with nothing to do,watch again.My main complaint is the ammount of swearing throughout the film.I do believe this is one of the few films that gets placed in the Guinness Book Of World Records for using the "F" word dozens&dozens of time,and its many combinations.It has what I consider the "Hollywood Formula Screenplay" to make a "style" film.Quintin Tarantino set the pace with Resevoir Dogs,and there were many carbon coppies made after.Some good,some bad,and yes...some ugly.The soundtrack to this film,while mysteriously unavailable is great throughout the movie and set the film's pace.

All the characters are entertaining,and while a little over the top&over zealous at times,it all fits with the way the film was intended to play.The only character I did'nt care for was the "female assasin".She was unbelievable as an assasin in every way,shape&form.The guns she fired were parcticaly bigger than she was,and looks like (if in the real world) she would'nt even be able to hold up any of them to aim strait enough and hit the broadside of a barn.All in all,this movie is just fun to watch with a group of friends.Break out the beer,popcorn&whatever else you like to consume while watching a flim like this,it's a kick.

You either loved this movie or you hated it. Thats what it came down to. I thought it was really good, dont go to this movie for the action though, but its a frickin hilarious comedy. Sam Jackson proves once again that he is the coolest man in movies today. The only problem i had with this movie is the constant, constant swearing. I dont care if they swear a few times, but they must have used it every other F-ing sentence. But other than that this is a great movie. Some confusing parts but go see it anyways.

This film is all about style, humor and pace and not about character or plotting. In this regard it is an enjoyable ride, albeit a silly and energetic one. The hyper directing from Yu really suits this and he does well even if he is not really very original in regards his shots etc. The editing fits with the formula set by Ritchie and is pretty much what you expect. What makes the film stand out from the rest of the copies is that it actually is quite good fun to watch (as opposed to some copies that are just cheap and nasty) - never hilarious but it is energetic enough to pull you along with it no matter how silly it gets. Of course it has weak points - a few characters are too daft and, whenever the overall plot is the main focus then it struggles.

Despite this the cast do well to keep things moving and they play a massive part in making this work. Jackson may not be doing anything new or wonderful here but he is key to the film working and he is worth every penny they must have paid him. He has great presence and he brings a lot of fun and energy to the film in a way that his lesser co-stars cannot. Carlyle is a good actor but he pales in comparison to Jackson in this - he isn't helped by the awful accent he is lumbered with and the fact that he is a little irritating. Mortimer is annoying as her character is just daft in the context of the plot, but not as annoying as Meatloaf who is easily the worst thing in the film. The support cast includes reasonable turns from Pertwee, Ifans, Tomlinson and Barber but this is Jackson's film 100% and it is difficult to imagine it being as enjoyable without him.

`Formula 51' a.ka.'51 States' moves fast, slick, and clearly had a bit of cash thrown at it and, apart from a handful of stupidly silly moments, is actually quite fun to watch - even if it is almost instantly forgettable. The cast includes quite a few well-known faces but it is the great presence of Jackson (who looks like he is enjoying himself in an undemanding role) that makes this worth seeing. If you are a fan of Snatch and Lock Stocking, you will definitely recognize the ingredients of this movie.

This movie was good to start out, muddled in the middle, and a small recovery at the end. Samuel Jackson does well, Robert Carlyle is awesome, and Emily Mortimer is great. Where this movie fails is in the complete lack of backup characters. Meatloaf is terrible, but not nearly as bad as others that go unmentioned here. The file has some great visual scenes, a good musical score, and decent dialogue. The movie succeeds at balancing humor and action. One just wishes a little more effort was put forth by all participants.

If you like movies to be loud, obnoxious, and filmed in a manic style that's reminicient of an MTV video, then FORMULA 51 is for you. It seems to me when a movie has numerous interludes of a character standing still, staring at the camera whilst the latest punk/heavy metal/rap song is booming that time needs to be filled due to lack of story. This flick was simply okay, I have to admit I turned it off at the one hour mark because it was kind of dumb. Trying to be different and stylish doesn't make a movie cool, the coolest movies are different and stylish because they aren't trying to be. If you like gritty TARENTINOesque films watch PULP FICTION again instead and be rewarded with a better SAM JACKSON performance and a movie thats light years ahead in coolness over this loud mess.

I have this as "The 51st State." It would seem that the US release as Formula 51 was editted to give a different movie as the Euro version is brilliant. Then again, being English I probably understand it better than most Americans. The kilt issue is explained at the end when Elmo claims his birthrite as the descending heir of a bloodline resulting from the couplings of a Scottish plantation owner and his negro slave (back when that sort of thing was done). Altogether a riotous gangster flick - Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels with more humour set in a city other than London. The irony here is that Carlyle, a Scot, plays a Scouser (Liverpudlian - a person from Liverpool, England) whilst Jackson, an African-American, plays a Scot (albeit with the usual SLJ vocal delivery instead of a more Celtic expressionism). For a Hollywood movie this captures the more offbeat aspects of British culture brilliantly (namely football - or soccer, if you prefer - and slang and our humour, among other things) and does it as well as British-made movies of a similar ilk, such as Lock, Stock..., Snatch, and Ganster No. 1.

If you don't get it first time, watch it again. And again. And again. Then visit England. Then watch it again. It's worth the effort (visiting England, not the movie!).

"Formula 51" was fitful to watch. I blame the dreadful directing by Ronny Yu. The opening sequence (after the pitiful pandering to 60s/70s drug culture in the prologue) has Samuel L. Jackson creating some kind of chemical we don't know about, with Meatloaf mad at him for something we don't know about, and Samuel L. Jackson trying to blow up Meatloaf because... well, we just don't know why... because Yu doesn't tell us.

The subpar directing continues to the end of the film when the reality of Samuel L. Jackson's ecstasy-style designer drug (the namesake for the title "Formula 51") is revealed. The ending really cheapened the previous 90 minutes (if that was possible).

The redeeming quality of this film is Robert Carlyle (also seen in "The Full Monty"). Robert Carlyle is fantastic. He is the only reason this movie is watchable. He is frenetic and unpredictable. It is classic Carlyle as he jumps between "lightning in a bottle" zaniness mixed with brief glimpses of sincere vulnerability.

What stands out memorably is a scene where Carlyle supports his Liverpool soccer/football team by entering a pub dominated by Manchester United fans, lighting a flare, and preceding to insult them and taunt them. The thirty of them chase him around the pub. It is pure physical comedy and a true fantasy for anyone who loves to hate the Manchester United club.

Samuel L. Jackson is the lead as Elmo McElroy. True to his Scottish last name, he wears a kilt and brandishes golf clubs in fights. He is fairly cool, but not as dominatingly cool as he is in Pulp Fiction.

Yes, there are some laugh-out-loud moments, but they are outnumbered by groan-out-loud moments. Do not expect "Snatch" or "Pulp Fiction" with this one. Ronny Yu is not in the same league as Guy Ritchie or Quentin Tarantino.

Now this is something of a rarity, a British action comedy that actually delivers and is as good, if not better, than many of the so-called action comedies Hollywood occasionally delivers. It of course stars an American, the king of cool himself Samuel L Jackson, it's also part-financed by American money and it is directed by Ronny Yu but it's still essentially a British movie, written by Stel Pavlou (not a very British name, I know) whilst working in liquor store.

Master chemist Elmo McElroy (Samuel L Jackson) has apparently invented the recreational drug to end all recreational drugs but the trouble is he's in debt to a nasty villain known as The Lizard (Meat Loaf). So he flees the country, with The Lizard's ruthless hit-woman Dakota Phillips on his tail, to sell the formula to British gangster Leopold Durant (Ricky Tomlinson) in a multi million dollar deal. Arriving in Liverpool he is met by the American hating, soccer loving Felix DeSouza (Robert Carlyle), and they are forced into a partnership of convenience. Cue many cross-cultural misunderstandings and laughs as DeSouza, mocks Jackson's kilt wearing character; "fag?" he enquires when offering him a cigarette. "So let me get this straight. `Bollocks is bad whereas dogs bollocks is good, right?" enquires Jackson.

Undoubtedly influenced by Quentin Tarantino, The 51st State takes a quintessentially American movie genre and gives it a British spin. It sets kilt wearing black American as a fish out of water in Liverpool, a place where the people are strange and the language is even stranger. But is he fazed by any of this? No, of course not. Not one iota, as he struts about in his kilt carrying his golf clubs and occasionally wielding them to dispatch the numerous bad guys. Jackson and Carlyle are both of course excellent and they are ably supported by Emily Mortimer and Rhys Ifans, in his first decent role since `Notting Hill'. Ronny Yu gives the movie a good snappy pace and the script is full of good comic and action set-pieces as well as one liners. It does have its flaws though. In particular `The Lizard' played by Meat Loaf is a pretty weak villain, there is not enough of Ricky Tomlinson as the haemorrhoid troubled Leopold Durant and there was too much profanity for my liking. Overall though this made for a good night out at the movies and I'd definitely recommend it.

This will appeal the most to people that like the unusual gang movies like "Get Shorty", "The Usual Suspects", "Snatch", "Weekend at Bernies" and "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels". It has a nice story twist at the end, great acting, good action, unusual dark comedy, and much more. I can't sit through two hours of just bloody gang movies, I can if they have some comedy. This one definitely has a nice comedy touch with a good ending. The irony is when a pharmacist is busted for smoking marijuana right after he graduates college and it ruins his chance to go legitimate, he takes the pharmaceutical version of illegal drugs to a new level. A must see for people that enjoy the movies I mentioned before.