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Khan Singh
Reviews
At Close Range (1986)
I just don't see it
A very over-rated film, dull and tedious, with flat performances, and uninspired writing. The look of the film is like those of Jerry Bruckheimer, in that it looks like a music video. Smoky rooms, with light bursting through one open window. Although tolerable in a three minute video, it gets tiring over the course of a feature film. What's more, except for the cars, it doesn't at all resemble the time in which it is set. The dialogue is basic, the plot is predictable. I'd include spoilers, but you can see everything coming. Though not long at 111 minutes, it feels much longer. This is due to the labored manner of the actors, as though everyone is trying to emulate Christopher Walken. One Walkenian performance per film is enough. Sean Penn has never looked worse, with his seeming wannabe-intensity. Which basically describes this entire film. It is a pantomime of grittiness.
Victory (1981)
Good, but I've seen this before
While not a bad movie, Victory does rip off The Longest Yard on several occasions. We have a former football player in prison, one for GTA, the other as a POW. The captors propose an exhibition with the prisoners. In both cases, the captors see it as an opportunity to prove their superiority. In the case of the convicts, it's a chance to get in a few good licks on the guards. The POW's, possibly a chance to escape. The captains convince the captors to provide the teams with better rations, equipment, secret training, and their pick from the indentured population. Both captains have difficulty recruiting a certain group of prisoners, the difference being that the Wermacht hinders the Russians from being recruited, the Prison Guards inadvertently encourage the black prisoners to join. I can't speak for the producers of Victory so I don't know if they ever saw The Longest Yard. But the fact that the latter came out in 1974, the former in 1981, demonstrates which is the original.