| In
this British action flick, Samuel L. Jackson plays Elmo McElroy, an American
pharmacist living the seedy life in the L.A. drug scene. McElroy designs
a custom party drug and a plan to take it overseas to Liverpool, where
he hopes to find a huge market of users. Unfortunately, before leaving
the States, Elmo has a scuffle with big-time dealer, The Lizard (rocker
Meat Loaf), who sends an assassin after him. From there, things get crazier
in a Pulp Fiction-Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels kind of way. (btw,
I must credit this ridiculous summary to Movies.com. Crap always spews
from their mouths.) [TRAILER]
STEVEN
SNYDER'S REVIEW
I enjoyed "Formula 51" in
a guilty kind of way. It is a movie filled with violence, drugs and sex,
and almost seems cheerful in pushing the envelope towards the extreme.
I'm not quite sure if I should recommend it, but I must admit that I had
a grin on my face through most of its scenes.
It is those who can get past its gratuitous surface that will also enjoy
"Formula 51." The rest will likely be rubbing their eyes, trying
to keep up with its frantic pace.
In the first five minutes, director Ronny Yu quickly cuts between three
different stories that will intersect down the road. In one, Elmo (Samuel
L. Jackson) is a former chemist who has gone the way of illegal drugs.
He has constructed, what he coins, the perfect drug. It is surprisingly
potent, but made completely out of legal substances, meaning it can be
sold and transported without threat of conviction.
The second story involves Elmo's first prominent customer, The Lizard
(Meat Loaf). Elmo has backstabbed The Lizard at the very last moment of
a deal, and The Lizard wants revenge. On the run, Elmo heads to England,
and meets up with Felix (Robert Carlyle), a henchman who quickly becomes
Elmo's right hand man in finding a new buyer.
The final plot line is that of Dakota (Emily Mortimer), Felix's ex-girlfriend
and hired by The Lizard to capture Elmo..
Complicated? Yes, but each story intersects in such a fashion that the
movie as a whole connects rather smoothly.
Clearly influenced by "Pulp Fiction," the zany 1994 hit man
movie that initiated the recent obsession with intersecting stories and
jumps in time, "Formula 51" successfully copies its style, but
not its substance. Part of "Pulp Fiction's" fun, besides another
great Samuel L. Jackson performance, was that its absurd and humorous
characters were almost always talking. The film's focus was not on murders
or double-crosses, but on the intelligent and insightful dialogue of its
characters. It enticed us with its words.
"Formula 51" takes a far different approach. Many of its characters
are humorous, like one of Elmo's European buyers who must sit on a foam
cushion anywhere he goes. Every time he shifts positions, we hear the
cushion, and one of his assistants must follow him around to ensure that
the cushion reaches the couch before he does. Or, take Elmo, who wears
a kilt through the entire film without explanation.
Nothing, however, is memorable about what these men, or any characters,
do. There is an entertaining, but forgettable, car chase. There is a surprising,
but poorly executed, surprise ending. A great plot twist involving one
of Dakota's assassination is initially entertaining, but takes a turn
towards the macabre.
But I must admit that I enjoyed "Formula 51" on a lesser level.
Its main characters and its numerous plot lines kept my interest. "Formula
51's" weakness is its ambition. It never tries to give this fictional
world the depth necessary to fully engage and entertain one's imagination.
I was reminded of "Law and Order," a television show I watch
frequently. Simply put, I watch it because I'm home and it's on. I find
it interesting because I don't know how it is going to end. But when it's
a rerun, I change the channel. After I know the ending, there's nothing
deeper in the show to make me watch an episode a second time.
"Formula 51" is a comparable way to pass ninety minutes. For
some it will be too loud and vulgar. For others, it will not be nearly
vulgar enough. I think both groups, in the end, will be entertained differently.
I also think both will see no need to watch it again anytime soon.
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