Last Vegas (2013)

Simply A Masterpiece

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

I saw this movie on a plane and it was pretty alright, nothing spectacular. A bunch of old friends meet up in Las Vegas to throw a retirement bash for one of them. This is like Hangover but with the elderly. Nonetheless the star wattage alone should get you interested and all the stalwarts such as Morgan Freeman, Michael Douglas, Kevin Kline and Robert De Niro are fun to watch. A nice one time watch for the old bunch.

Four friends take a break from their day-to-day lives to throw a bachelor party in Las Vegas for their last remaining single pal. Last Vegas brings Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro, Kevin Kline and Michael Douglas for an epic trip in Las Vegas that is packed with lots of terrific humor and a plot that is a bit similar to Hangover but better. The entire cast does a great job especially Freeman who has an insane and hilarious comedic scene involving him and a window. As for De Niro? If you loved him in the 2013 driven Comedy, Boxing, Spoof starring alongside Stallone you are gonna love him in this film as well cause he was brilliant and the same goes for Douglas and Kline. (10/10)

Last Vegas (2013): Dir: Jon Turteltaub / Cast: Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro, Kevin Kline, Mary Steenburgen: An elderly version of The Hangover only it totally lacks the laughs and clever writing of that great comedy. Title regards the conclusion of youth and innocence. Michael Douglas stars as the centre piece of four friends that go back to childhood. He is getting married to a woman thirty years his junior and he contacts his friends for a weekend bachelor party in Vegas. Robert De Niro plays an estrange friend who resents Douglas because he failed to attend his wife's funeral. This resentment runs deeper before the conclusion reveals deeper pain. Morgan Freeman is on pills is monitored by his son so he must sneak out undetected. Kevin Kline plays the fourth wheel whose wife gives him an envelop that contains a Viagra pill and a condom. While he does have an uncomfortable encounter with men in drag, it is obvious that he will not cheat on his wife even when the opportunity presents itself. The female roles are unfortunately underwritten and placed as props for romantic clichés. The cast is wonderful but the screenplay is as bland as the lights going out in Vegas. The Hangover is brilliant but here it doesn't quite hit the laugh factor. Director Jon Turteltaub has done better films such as While You Were Sleeping and National Treasure: Book of Secrets. He doesn't totally miss here thanks to a great cast and a theme of age and friendship. Big fans of the actors will be curious but Vegas is always better with the Wolf Pack in the dawn of the boozing. Score: 5 ½ / 10

The phrase "turn off your brain" gets some well-deserved flack when its used by idiots like Michael Bay to suggest their plot-hole filled CGI noisefests still have some credibility as cinematic art pieces. However, for films like Last Vegas, I consider it okay to suggest that its great viewing for someone who doesn't want anything profound or deep, just a good old- fashioned fun time. A movie like Last Vegas should be watched and enjoyed without looking and analysing the direction or cinematography.Starting with the cast - holy crap, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman AND Robert DeNiro? Last Vegas has a very simple premise that lets these cinema gods just wander around and have fun, and its an execution that works. You can tell that the guys on screen are having a ball making this film. Each man has his own little arc and each one wraps up nicely, but for the most part Last Vegas' entertainment value comes in watching these four old dudes razz on each other, make jokes and party down in Vegas. Jon Turteltaub (whose overall direction could've been done by anyone) and his screenwriters touch on serious themes like health and gambling but wisely never delve into the depressing stories there. He keeps the mood light and fun.The film focuses on DeNiro and Douglas and their unresolved issues regarding love lives. It was a nice plot that had just the right amount of seriousness in it. Whilst their chemistry was never quite as good as say Freeman and Kline (who have a ball and are absolutely hilarious to watch) the story unfolds very nicely and I was happy it was there. The rest of the movie is conventional, but who cares - where else can you see Morgan Freeman carving up the dance floor?Last Vegas is fun in the way that Pacific Rim is fun - it doesn't try to be anything that its not, and what it does it does really well. I smiled and laughed most of the way through, and that's all I could want from it.