Viva Riva! (2011)

Very well executed

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

A lot of fun.

Viva Riva works best as a film that will fill your eyes and I mean that in the best sense. The film looks really good from the costumes of the nattily dressed gangsters that Riva is trying to rip off to the complete flashiness of the art deco of the nightclubs that these guys rule over--the film is dripping with style. I should add that the movie is also dripping with violence also as the movie has quite a bit of violence even towards women in it throughout. Its not a film that spares someone from a beating just because she's a she.The movie's narrative on the other hand is pretty classic. Small time hustler and thief returns to hometown and promptly falls for gangster's girl. Gangster notices and gets upset. Meanwhile the thief is being tracked down and targeted for revenge by the guys he stole from...and those guys are not playing around, they're way more dangerous then the flashy gangster. Film works really well to a point. That point would be the last twenty or so minutes (maybe even ten minutes) where the plot threads that have been forming the whole time finally come together but they don't exactly merge the way you'd like them to. I don't know if it works exactly but i enjoyed it more or less even if its not a plot you haven't already seen in many a film before.Film is worth checking out tho if you're a fan of hard boiled crime stories or classic gangster cinema (by which i mean movies where the dames talk tougher then the anti heroes) Film does end kind of abruptly--there;s a big shootout (of course) but what happens at the end should've been made either more explicit or more final. Its interesting that i saw this not long before i saw "submarine" because while the two films have absolutely nothing in common--they both sort of suffer in comparison to other films in their genre but are both so so pretty to watch on their own that they almost make up for it in set design alone.

I initially thought this movie would be like any other mobster flick, but I was blown away at how good it actually was. I felt the actors were well chosen for their characters, especially Patsha Bay as Riva. He was a clever character that had me intrigued of what he was going to do next. Most scenes happen in Kinshasha which fits into the plot line and is also visually appealing. I feel the plot went to many extremes and was comical at times, which worked extremely well. If you're looking for an action packed film with quite an amount of gore, this films perfect for you ( as I do enjoy these type of films myself). This is definitely a must see and I can't wait to see it again.

I enjoyed this movie beyond reason. It's got equal parts love story, action, and gore and kept me engaged all through. Set in the Congo, it follows the struggles between ruthless gangsters as they fight for control over gasoline, a commodity worth more than a fetch of money in an area where petroleum shortages are severe. The star actress of the movie who plays Nora is a character entangled in the struggle through her relationship with one gangster and love for another, who happens to be the movie's namesake, Riva. Nora plays a character who is equally troubling as she is seductive. Set in the Congo, this movie captures the place and its people eloquently, revealing complicated characters in a place plagued by raw poverty and crime.

A total action packed thriller with ruthless violence and exotic sex scenes! It follows the story of Riva, a charismatic young man who stole fuel from a gangster, his chase for Nora, a vibrant woman who is already dating another gangster, and a gangster's chase for Riva to try and get his money back. The movie successfully portrays the levels of violence people in the Congo can reach when stuck in a country ravished by poverty, corruption and hopelessness. It shows how the violent lust for money and power can lead to your doom. As we see in the end all the gangsters chase for money leads them nowhere but to their dead end. When the young boy pretends he is driving away with the money at the very end I got the feeling that it was supposed to symbolize that history repeats itself and that money is an evil tool that can take over anyone's life, even a young boys. Its an in your face look at the extreme brutal reality in the Congo, that makes you think and keeps you on your toes!