Fifty/Fifty (1993)

Better Late Then Never

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

FIFTY/FIFTY is a somewhat bland buddy-buddy comedy action film from the team at Cannon Pictures, and one of the studio's lesser efforts. It stars the great Peter Weller (of ROBOCOP fame, of course) as a tough-talking mercenary and Robert Hays (of the AIRPLANE! series) as his wisecracking partner. Together they're tasked with overthrowing the corrupt dictator of a country in south east Asia, a task which sees them running around in the jungle a lot and shooting extras. While the Malaysian filming locations are authentic enough, the action is half-baked and the whole plot feels very cliched. This was directed by Charles Martin Smith and it's not one of his memorable efforts; everyone's on autopilot, going through the motions rather than making an effort. You'd be better off watching something more cheesy and over the top like DELTA FORCE 2 or COMMANDO.

Charles Martin Smith who is not the most critically acclaimed director has made some pretty good movies in his time although not many people seem to know about them. However, this did not stop me from finding the movie Fifty/Fifty. I stumbled onto this little token because I was searching for films Peter Weller had starred in. Boy was I glad this film caught my attention with its excellent trailer. I usually do not laugh during trailers but this one was a rare gem.Fifty/Fifty was released by Cannon Films who seemed to me like a well- known cinema company; I guess not. This film wasn't even theatrically released. But that makes it all the better. Peter Weller and Robert Hays star as two CIA operatives who are given an assignment to overthrow a ruthless dictator. Although both are from two different genres, both of them work really well together. I say this because their wisecracks seemed so natural like they didn't read the script. I'll admit that I did not have one favorite scene in this movie, because almost every scene was too good to pick a favorite. Even director Charles Martin Smith has a role in this story and he does his part well too.The action is good in this movie too. There are plenty of shootings, explosions and there is some blood but not a lot of gore. The MPAA rating for this movie is rated R mostly for the language. I enjoyed Smith's direction on how he had Weller and Hays act during trouble. Even near death scenes, they never let go of their wit and funny comments.Making this movie even more rare of a find is the score composed by Peter Bernstein, son of famous composer Elmer Bernstein. It's a little distressing to me because I enjoy many soundtracks to movies and I love collecting them and Bernstein's score is unobtainable. The score is fun to listen to because of its cheery mood and the way it gets fed into whatever scene is currently happening. I enjoyed this film a lot and wished that it was released theatrically. Director Charles Martin Smith outdid himself with this movie and its unfortunate not many people know of this funny action movie.For some, it would seem like Robert Hays and Peter Weller are not the best duo in action comedy when in fact they deliver goods extremely well. With funny lines, a good soundtrack, and loud action, Fifty/Fifty will please any hardcore action comedy fan.

well..this is the only movie from Hollywood which shot the film in Malaysia. THis is the only movie which has plenty of actors from Malaysia whom i known, and they're are fantastic! "Os" is one of the actors who shows great courage in a Hollywood movie, followed with the girl, Azmil and Shaharudin Tamby. I'm glad that i Watched this movie although there are only 252 votes, and only get a 5.0 out of 10 stars.The best part of this movie is where the final scene was shot in my own country, in "Padang Kota Lama" and it seems to be a great action movies! This is one the place where it happens to be a great "tsunami" which cause death to the people in Penang in 2005. Oh well, let's not talk about tsunami, let's talk about movie. This is a well done movie with great action scene and superb acting. Deserve to obtained more stars which i think it should be above 6 stars.By the way, give this movie a chance, watch it!! (10/10)

You know what the problem of this movie is ?.. The way people look at it, simply because they measure it by the "big and loud" American action movies of the 1990s.. and really that's unfair.Here, or as you can find in that kind of low budget films, there is no bankable stars, huge production, nor strong capacity to export their work to the global cinemas. So they struggle to have the opportunity to make movies (good ones at least) and to buy them inside USA or around the world. And as for (Fifty /Fifty) I think they did it good this time.. so good indeed. When you have a low budget action flick then you would have heroes like (Christopher Lambert), (Brandon Lee), (Dolph Lundgren), (Don the dragon Wilson), (Cynthia Rothrock). And there are some others who got more fame and appreciation in the middle east like (Chuck Norris), (Steven Seagal), (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and all of the above, with all due respect for them and for their lovers, had more bad movies than their own good, and they are all whether not good actors or mostly the very bad ones ever!. Therefore when you watch such a brilliant, pleasant and entertaining small movie as (Fifty/Fifty) you must evaluate it first as an independent film and second as one with no acting problems in it.For the story obviously it's an inspiration of the (The Seven Samurai) of Japan (I suppose it's coming from an old legend) which you can find it as (The Magnificent Seven) in America, (Shams elzanaty) in Egypt or as (Sholay - 1975) in India and that very last one looks like the original one for (Fifty/Fifty) regarding too many proofs such as : there are just 2 defenders of the weak village (not 7), the love story between one of them and a local girl, and the tossing up play by the coin.. (or maybe it's just a strange coincidences !).The most enjoyable thing here is that it has so good action (remember there is no C.G.I at all), excellent thrill, and flawless acting. Actually it's real fun to watch more than once.Just remember the action sequences at the jungle, or the finale scene that was perfect. I've got quite a surprise when I knew that the movie's director is (Charles Martin Smith) the same short actor who played the character of (Martin Sprue) the American intelligence's officer ! For that I think the acting was that nice and good. I'm now searching for his other movies as a director to enjoy their fine quality if they're all like this one which was too dazzling for a mediocre movie.I had an amazing time with it from the beginning to the last especially every shot got (Peter Weller) and (Robert Hays) together. As for (Robert Hays) he is so gifted in comedy and in action as well. He looks like Jean-Paul Belmondo but with his OWN mark of being distinguished. It makes you ask eagerly where is such an actor ? and why he isn't a star ? (while OTHERS are.. unfortunately !!).I loved all the fun and the fine work of it more than a lot, and I mean a lot, of Hollywood big and loud action movies. In one word : this time independent cinema really rocks.