Stand Up Guys - 3.2/5.0

Stand Up Guys is at the core a sweet movie.  You almost can't go wrong with this trio - Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Alan Arkin.  But ultimately, this movie becomes about the actors more than anything else.  The story doesn't hold tight and the script is weak.  At times, the three actors veer dangerously close to becoming parodies of their past selves.  If you can make allowances in the name of nostalgia, then this movie will be enjoyable for you.  There's a great sense of history between these three, and the mere glimpses of their past glory and distinguishments are when the movie shines.  The screenplay never delivers what you want it to, but the movie is the strongest when it shows more than it tells.

Al Pacino plays Val, a guy that's just been released from jail after 28 years.  His best friend, Doc (Christopher Walken) is there to pick him up, but also harbors a heavy task -- he's the one that's been charged to kill him.  The movie takes place over the next 24 hours as they relive old days, make promises for the new ones, and make no apologies for who they've become.

You can't take this movie too seriously.  It's off the cuff, tries too hard to be funny in some moments, and too convenient plot-wise.  However, at times it addresses not just what happens in the life after crime, but what happens to all of us as we all grow older.  What I do love about this movie are the unspoken implications -- the hints of their past together, the burden Walken feels, the glimpse of Arkin's love for his wife.  However, the build-up is the countdown to the end, and the ending is a cop-out.  It's a disappointment and a filler for an ending as if the screenwriter wrote himself into a corner and couldn't think of a different way to finish.

But truth is, I still love Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Alan Arkin with a passion.