Dito (Downey) returns to Queens for the first time in 15 years, and realises that the strained relationship with his father (Palminteri) and mother (Wiest) hasn't changed much. Two decades earlier, the teen Dito (LaBeouf) spent the summer hanging out with his girlfriend (Diaz) and running with his buddies--tough Antonio (Tatum), dopey Nerf (Tambakis), new kid Mike (Compston). But as they hunted down the violent reaper (Rivera) for an act of revenge, Dito realised he needed to get out of here if he was ever going to have a future.

The flashback structure removes any suspense about what might happen, as does the fact that the writer-director is Dito himself. But the way the film jarringly cuts back and forth in time--and within scenes--makes it a vibrant piece of filmmaking. The dialog is a bundle of screaming arguments, crackling banter and hilarious silliness in which everyone talks at the same time and no one listens. And yes, this non-communication is at the core of most problems.

As the older Dito back from California, Downey is a voice of calm in the storm. Everyone else is the same, but with his stillness, Downey commands the screen. And to some degree LaBoeuf accomplishes the same thing in the 1980s scenes; he's clearly more thoughtful, made for something else than this. The surrounding cast is excellent, competing for scene-chewing honours in a noisy, busy movie.

All of this attitude makes the film a bit hard to stomach, just as the overwrought swirl of frenetic action and dialog make it hard to follow. Real life may be like this, but it's too much for a movie screen. And it's also a little jarring to see a whiff of condescension in Montiel's approach; alongside his central theme about recognising the value of those who have made us who we are, he's kind of urging us to leave those losers behind.

themes, language, violence, sexuality

17.Oct.06