Focus Review

You’re in for a decent attempt at a con movie. Will Smith brings his charm and style to this project and makes you believe him. There are a lot of plot twists that will have you shocked and amazed. The use of misdirection is very interesting. If you’re a fan of Will Smith then you should definitely watch this movie.

The Good

• The chemistry between Nicky and Jess was a nice experience. They played off of each other quite well. You could see the level of comfort between Smith and Robbie. Their best scene together happened during the bet with Liyuan Tse. It was an intense scene and a lot of heart racing moments came out.

• Adrian Martinez was hilarious as Farhad. This character was quite enjoyable to watch. He brought a lot of funny moments to this story.
• The beginning half of this movie was quite interesting. The small cons being played was sharp and showcased many lifting techniques. Will Smith even showed off a few fancy lifts of his own. The underground world of con-people brought intrigue.

The Bad

The last half of this movie after the time jump was semi-clumsy. The movie started to drag a bit and contradict itself. Nicky started to mess up and go against all of his rules which got him almost killed. The change of his demeanor was interesting to see but ultimate made the movie lose focus, ha.

Nicky’s father being employed by Garriga is ludicrous, not to mention the reveal of his true identity. It makes you think about the multiple interactions between both characters in disbelief. There’s no way Owen could be Nicky’s father, especially after watching a few scenes in the movie.

Jess started off as an inexperienced con-woman then gets promoted to a competent one during the first half of the movie. She unfortunately drops down to a below average con-person after the time jump. When Garriga captures both her and Nicky she begins going over how much of her skills regressed over the years. She tried to make Nicky jealous at the same time she kept on failing in trying to take the guy’s watch.

Focus (2015) Cast and Details

Focus (2015) is directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa and stars Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro, Adrian Martinez and Gerald McRaney. It runs 105 minutes and is rated R. You can look up the full cast and crew on IMDb. You might also like my Fifty Shades of Grey review.