Sneakers (1992)

I do like a smart film, and Phil Alden Robinson's "Sneakers" is surely that.

This film actually has an (at the time) original story, with some cool characters. Hell, they did such a good job with the characters that Dan Aykroyd seems a plausible choice in a thriller, albeit a mostly lighthearted one.

In many ways, this is a predecessor to movies like "Oceans Twelve" (and it's sub-par sequels). It's a big heist, the good guys are of somewhat questionable moral fibre, there are many things going on on many levels, and it's light-hearted and cool in nature. Oh. And the casting is by ensemble. Redford, Aykroyd, Strathairn, River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier and Mary McDonnell head the cast and are fantastically flanked by Stephen Tobolowsky, Timothy Busfield, Eddie Jones and the late runners Ben Kingsley and James Earl Jones. They all fit the bill here and deliver apt performance to add depth and set up the humor.

The humor here is great, and the actors possess wonderful comedic timing for the most. An absolute necessity when you're trying to make something slick and cool.

As tech-thrillers go, this is a clever example, combining logics and panache with what was at the time a futuristic technology and some really cool gadgets. They create small and large challenges along the way and allow the viewer to see the process towards solution. Exciting and gratifying! The trip towards making Redford an "honorary blind person" is absolute genius.

James Horner has a tendency to build all his scores around a single theme. In this film he varies more on themes and less on instruments, but with great luck. The choral arrangements remind of Elfman, but other than that it is worth a listen on its own as well as laying a fine musical carpet for the film.

Alden Robinson does stretch the brutality a couple of times, considering the light tone of the film. The same goes for the seriousness of Kosmo's plan. But it's just inside the borders of what the film can take and adds a little extra. Ironically mostly humor. Kudos to Eddie Jones!

So next time you consider Clooney and Pitt on re-run; remember that this cast is much more credible and the movie as a whole simply better.

8/10