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Aliens in outer space. Replicants loose in a rainy city. Two women against the world. Gladiators fighting each other to death and now, an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder con man conning people with his partner and a daughter he never knew he ever had. Boy, Sir Ridley Scott has really covered all bases from from space to earth, ancient times to modern times! Matchstick Men, referring to their jobs, is quite an excellent, funny, fast-moving film with a rather great screenplay. I don't usually write about screenplays but this one deserves it. Sir Ridley Scott is one of the reasons why many of the actors and actresses have made some of their greatest movies (Harrison Ford - Blade Runner, Russell Crowe - Gladiator, Susan Sarandon & Geena Davis - Thelma & Louise just to name a very few and now, Nicolas Cage) From the late 80's till early 2000's, Nicolas Cage gave some of the best movie performances and, same his characters may seem, managed to entertain us with performances no other actor could possibly play. Hate him or like him but you're bound to be glued to the screen when you watch this movie and Cage's surefire Oscar role which he didn't get - a shame really!
Well, my history is a little shaky at the moment but, correct me if I'm wrong, Sir Ridley Scott has probably never used this many use of the cut-shot technique as he has done in this movie. It's perfectly well-timed and done all in the right number of times; Reminded me of a similar move in Hellraiser: Hellseeker. Also, it has two of the best tropes I enjoy: 1) A father gets a visit from a child (in this case, a daughter) he never knew he had (although the ending may shock you) and 2) having a star play a role half their age (Alison Lohman was 24 and she played a 14 yr. old). Chemistry-wise, I enjoyed Cage & Lohman the best with Cage & Rockwell a close second.
Watch this movie if you're in the mood for something light, yet intriguing, and/or something that after when you finish the film you would be like "now that was worth of my time"
8.5/10
