It is funny sometimes when a movie you thought was awesome in your youth actually turns out to be a movie that is just decent at best. Ten years ago, I would have told you that Domino is one of the greatest action movies ever made. Ten years later, I will tell you that the action in the movie is good, the performances are great, but overall Domino is not very good. This is a shame because I have such a love and appreciation for Tony Scott's work as a director.
Domino is the story of Domino Harvey and her life as a bounty hunter. To be honest, I found this movie to be quite slow and boring. The performances and the action scenes, particularly the shootout at the top of the Space Needle, are what kept me invested. In the end, I was glad for it to be over. There are some flaws in the movie. For some reason, every time Domino (Keira Knightley) tells us about a new character we see a flashback of that person's life. That is not necessary at all. Also, there are many parts of the film that are shown in slow motion. Slow motion works when you put it in the right places, but not when it is used throughout the movie. Also, there is part in the movie when they crash their R.V., and after they escape Domino and Choco (Edgar Ramirez) immediately start having sex right in the middle of the desert. WHAT?! That makes absolutely no sense at all. Another thing is that, in the aforementioned shootout, why is it so dark at the top of the Space Needle? How are they able to see each other, much less shoot each other? When you add all these things to an already boring movie, the result is not very good. However, most of the performances are stellar.
Keira Knightley electrifies the screen as Domino Harvey. She kicks ass, has a smart mouth, and is completely fearless. I always enjoy it when an actor/actress goes against type, and Knightley does so with such ferocity. She disappears into this role just as she always does.
Mickey Rourke plays Ed Moseby. He is the leader of the pack, and Rourke does not have to do much convincing to make us believe that. He remains cool and focused even in the face of death. This is honestly one of the best pieces of acting I have ever seen from Rourke.
Edgar Ramirez plays Choco. Choco has a soft exterior, but that is just a cover for this wild beast of a man that will shoot your arm off without any hesitation. Unfortunately, there is no motivation behind the character. He is just there as Ed Moseby's sidekick, and he really has little to do throughout the movie.
The late Tony Scott is the director of Domino. Long before J.J. Abrams started using lens flares, Tony Scott was bringing us his own signature flashy style of directing. The camerawork, again particularly in the action scenes, is amazing. Unfortunately, Scott gets too caught up in his own style and does too much with it which diminishes the quality of the movie. That being said, Domino is an incredible rare misstep for the highly under-appreciated and under-rated Tony Scott.
As I said before, Domino is an average movie at best. If you are one of those movie fans like me who collect entire collections of an actor's/director's work, then I would recommend Domino to complete your Tony Scott collection. However, if you are a fan of Tony Scott's other films you probably will not enjoy it.
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