Detour (2017)

Thanks for the memories!

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

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

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I was totally caught off guard by this movie, as I had heard nothing about it before, until I saw it today on HBO, and it turned out to be pretty d*mn good!Detour is a small road trip thriller about a teenage boy who suspects that his stepfather did something bad to his Mom, and as he tries to figure out what to do about it, he makes some stupid decisions which get him into trouble. As the events of the film unfold we start to realize that the mess he made is even worse than we thought, and there are some crazy and unexpected twists and turns along the way.I missed the first 5 minutes of the movie, but it was easy to pick up, and due to the acting, the realistic dialogue, the tension and the amazing camera-work I was hooked from the moment I started watching to the very end. The performances are top notch; both Tye Sheridan and Emory Cohen - who I had never heard about before - are fantastic, as well as the girl, Bel Powley. The story is exciting, and is told in a clever (even if not entirely original) way. There are several instances when the movie goes to unexpected places, and through the unfolding events more and more information gets revealed about the characters, which makes Detour an especially interesting and fun ride. (I guess, at this point, Christopher Smith has got to be one of my favourite directors, as he also directed the 2009 movie "Triangle", which is a similarly unrecognized, underrated thriller, and is a personal favourite of mine.)

I wasn't quite sure what to expect going into 'Detour'. I have enjoyed some of writer/director Christopher Smith's previous work, it always has an edge to it, something that makes it unique and different. Again it would have to be said that 'Detour' is a unique film, just perhaps not as much so as some of his other films. Something else I like about his work is that it pulls no punches and you really have a sense as an audience member that anything could happen. That is certainly apparent in 'Detour'.One thing that let the film down for me was Tye Sheridan in the lead role. He just has zero charisma and is very hard to root for. I understand his role wasn't supposed to be an overly likable or fun guy, but a good actor can still make themself watchable and entertaining while playing a role like that. Other than that though there isn't a whole lot I can fault the film for. The rest of the cast performed adequately and the pacing is very well handled despite a chopping type of story line. It's certainly nothing game-changing or mesmerising, but if you have a couple of hours to kill there are far worse ways you could do it than by watching 'Detour'.

'DETOUR': Four Stars (Out of Five)A British thriller about a young law student, who blames his stepfather for causing the car accident which put his mother into a coma. So he hires a professional criminal, that he meets at a bar, to kill the despised stepdad. It stars Tye Sheridan, Emory Cohen, Bel Powley and Stephen Moyer. The film was written and directed by Christopher Smith (who's also helmed one other movie I've seen, 2010's 'BLACK DEATH'). I thought the film was pretty interesting, although dark, and involving too.One night at a bar, Harper (Sheridan), a young college law student, meets Johnny Ray (Cohen), a professional criminal. Harper explains to Johnny how he blames his stepfather, Vincent (Moyer), for his mother being in a coma (and he especially blames him for never going to visit her). Johnny offers to kill Vincent, for $20,000. Harper, while extremely drunk, accepts the offer. The next day though, when Johnny shows up at Vincent's door, with his girlfriend Cherry (Powley), Harper begins to have serious doubts about going through with the plan. Johnny talks him into it though.The movie is even darker than it sounds! What's really disturbing about it though, is that some of the most likable people in it are the ones doing the darkest and most disturbing things (and the film makes you sympathize with them). I always find it strange, and disturbing, when a movie can make me feel something for someone who's doing something really horrible. This is one of those films. The performances are pretty good in it too, especially Sheridan and Cohen. It's a movie that I probably won't forget anytime soon, and I always have to give a film like that a decent amount of credit.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/KR0HDeT91m0

Much better than expected!I was really not expecting much with no name actors (I didn't recognize any one) and no name director and writer Christopher Smith, but I was very pleasantly surprised!All the actors were spot on, maybe a little overboard in some instances but it played well with the directing which was actually very impressive for a director and writer I never heard of!Yes there were a few plot holes but for a 'B' or less movie, everything else was exceptional! Well done Christopher Smith and to the entire cast for a great thrill ride!