The Opportunists (1999) Reviews

• Very little action, but fine "character study" starring Christopher Walken.

  TxMike2001-08-08

  Christopher Walken and his girlfriend played by Cindi lauper are both New Yorkers so I'm certain they both felt right at home in their roles. Many who like fast action, snappy dialog types of films will be bored with this one. However, for those like me who enjoy a great, well-developed character study carried out in about 88 minutes, this is worth a viewing. Walken plays a safe-cracker who has served his time and trying to go straight, working as a mechanic, and paying for his old aunt to stay in a home run by nuns. Always on the verge of debt, the sale of his car is saboutaged by someone wanting to get him to do one more job, the safe at the armored car office. So, pressured from all sides, he agrees. In the safe, his halpess "helper", posing as a cousin from Ireland, gets Walken trapped and caught by the cops. He gets out of it when the business owner, who also runs an illegal laundering operation, fails to press charges. We see walken going back into Lauper's bar, presumably to live straight from then on. The story thus is sorta victimless. Although Walken and the others are helped by the one money bag that is successfully stolen by the Irish guy, then split up, it was money illegally gotten. We are, I suppose, to forgive Walken because he had no choice. The most interesting scene was where he was practicing "cracking" the 3 different safe combinations within 6 minutes to avoid setting off the alarm. The DVD is "budget" all the way - Dolby AC-3 sound, no menu, no extras. However, the sound and picture are not deficient, given the formats. Just a well-acted, low-budget film, and I enjoyed it.

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• Very Enjoyable with a realistic story

  teensyweensy-12004-02-26

  This movie was paced really well and the characters were are very believable. I was especially suprised I enjoyed Cyndi Lauper's acting. Quite Good. I am a Christopher Walken fan so probably would enjoyed it more than others. Even so it was a good, down to earth story with some morals. It was interesting, funny and really very enjoyable. I liked the quirky humour and was glad I watched it. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. See it.

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• Worth A Look, Good Small Film

  max312000-09-07

  This is worth taking a look at. Walken does a commendable job as the small-time crook, now out and self-employed, trying to stay honest fixing cars in a garage. Cindi Lauper is good, piling on a thick NYC accent, first time I've seen her in a movie. She's likeable, very grounded in the movie. The supporting cast is very real. The result is, you don't like many of them a lot. They're average people, and we see them in less than flattering scenes. To that extent, you do like them because they're dealing the best way they know with events. The movie works, in part because of what it doesn't do. It doesn't make us endure one of those speeches the wife or girlfriend or best pal gives the ex-con, just before he's about to commit to one more heist. Here, Lauper just tells Walken to hit the road, she knows somethings up, and it's gonna spoil the plans they made. Very low-key. No need to get into melodrama, everybody knows the Walken character, they're not going to change his mind with wailing. I wouldn't drive across town to see the film, but if it's convenient, this is a good character study. It has some humor, too, but only as a byproduct of things going on, not a goal. The tone of it reminded me of the movie, Thief, but only in the sense that we're watching people who live in a realm most of us never go. I'd rather see this kind of movie than another one of those idiotic gross-out comedies.

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• Cyndi Lauper steals this film.

  hi_from_darren2005-03-07

  Even though it's not a big budget film, it is the acting that makes this movie so enjoyable to watch. Each of the actors gives a believable performance. I already knew that she was a very talented singer/songwriter but who would have guessed that Cyndi Lauper was such a wonderful actor. It's a pity that she didn't have a larger role. I hope that she continues with her acting. The DVD contains absolutely no extras - not even the movie trailer. It was never given a cinema release in Austalia but turned up on DVD at a budget price.

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• decent little character study

  ebh2000-08-31

  Christopher Walken plays a loser auto mechanic in Queens, New York whose life is hitting rock bottom. His checks are bouncing all over the place, and his relationship with his girl friend, nicely played by Cyndi Lauper is heading nowhere fast. He becomes involved in a heist, with some bumbling locals. The film works well enough, but the writing is a bit weak, and it could have been directed a little better. But well worth a look. By the way, Walken is excellent.

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