All Things To All Men (2014)

Best movie ever!

Absolutely brilliant

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The film opens with a diamond heist then switches quickly to a cocaine bust. Oh wait. The cocaine bust was just a way for to coerce The Merchant (Gabriel Byrne) to hire the diamond thief (Toby Stephens) by rogue members of Scotland Yard who want to use him for a robbery....I think.The film consists of a confused mess that is hard to follow. The robbery appears to happen right before the cocaine bust, but in one conversation it was "ago." There are people whose brother was killed, dad was killed, and others seeking revenge having motives that pop out with no clarity. There is a long series of double crosses and relationships that are boring. I don't mind watching a film I have trouble keeping up with, but the film has to have some entertaining scenes along the way. This was filled with a long series of boring scenes of people talking, while robberies, killings, and chase scenes are abbreviated.There are far better British "thrillers" out there.Original Title "All Things to All Men."Parental Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

Movie is plodding and predictable. I only found it because I am indulging a Rufus Sewell swoon, saw the title listed in his IMDb credits and located it on Netflix. The Bad: The "plot" is a pastiche of so many (better) movies from the past 20-30 years. Actually from the beginning of movie-making (smile).The Good: So many terrific character actors with arresting faces (another reason I love Rufus). So it was worth a watch late on a Friday night. Relaxed with a drink in hand. Linking the faces to other movies and TV series.Over the past 2 years, I have binge-watched so many Brit and Aussie TV series and movies especially. I favor crime and drama. A long visit to London (and the Cotswolds) is on my bucket list. So while I respect the reviewers who say this movie doesn't present the London they know, the exterior shots sure look inviting to me here in Pennsylvania. Having lived previously in Washington, D.C., and environs, I know the annoyances of seeing exteriors that truly do not represent that city.

It is obvious what George Isaac was trying with this. A story involving crooked cops and a London gangster, a mysterious thief with a heart of gold caught in their game, and (a try at) a twist. A mix between the old film noir and more modern UK gangster/heist films; just from the film's start it seemed quite good and promising.Yet, it does not work. The script is very weak and unoriginal, without a single great moment; a mere 'copy and paste' of film noir's more usual situations/clichés and character stereotypes (like the crooked cop that is just 'following the system' or the mysterious, often quiet and sometimes cynical main character). The plot gets overly muddled by the middle of the film to the point that the viewer can easily get confused; by the ending, things get resolved in such a ridiculously predictable way that the film becomes overly simplistic in hindsight.It does not help that the film feels silly. There is not a credible tension like in most heist/gangster films, which is further enhanced by the extreme predictability of it all. There is also no memorable moments at all, nothing that could make this film worthy remembering (for the good or for the bad).The cast is interesting. Gabriel Byrne and Rufus Sewell stand out and make the most out of their characters; Toby Stephens does feel like a noir protagonist, though the emotionless-ness of his character is overdone; and Terence Maynard and Leo Gregory also do a nice work despite their overly flawed characters.Overall, while not necessarily a bad movie, 'All Things to All Men'/'The Deadly Game' ends up as a forgettable, overly predictable and silly mess that does not work despite its fine cast.

I cannot recommend this movie. I am a fan of all the lead actors. All play their parts well but in this case, the sum is far less than the parts! It is a very complicated movie and I soon lost my way. If there was a clever plot to keep me entertained then I'm afraid it went over my head. My main criticism is that I was always aware that I was watching a movie. Not once was I drawn into and absorbed by the action. The dialogue was unoriginal and to some extent the overall outcome was quite predictable. Oh, and I hate it when a man suffers severe gunshot wounds but moves around apparently uninjured a few scenes later; the rest of us mere mortals spend a week or two semi-conscious in hospital! Nothing new in this movie; don't waste your money.