Set Up - DVD

Movie: It was supposed to be a foolproof heist. Sonny (Curtis Jackson), his best buddy Dave (Brett Granstaff) and Vincent (Ryan Phillippe) rob a courier carrying $5 million worth of diamonds. No one was supposed to get hurt and the loot was supposed to be split fairly. But then Vincent shoots the courier first and then fires at Sonny and Dave as well. While Dave is killed instantly, Sonny survives the dastardly attack and vows revenge. But he knows Vincent couldn't have acted alone, so he needs help. He finds it in the powerful gangster Biggs (Bruce Willis), whose support he tries to secure with a small favor. But even that goes wrong and soon Sonny is facing an even bigger problem with a dead henchman of Biggs and two million dollars. Then, when the owner of the stolen diamonds shows up and starts hunting for the thieves, the situation threatens to escalate for good.

Set Up begins very promisingly. The robbery of the diamond courier is grippingly staged and the showdown sets the stage for what is in itself an exciting story. In itself, the story remains until the finale on a good level of tension and with a little interspersed humor, for which primarily Bruce Willis is responsible in his unfortunately much too small supporting role, can also convince the entertainment value. Ultimately, however, there are two weak points that stand in the way of a positive overall picture.

The biggest weak point might be the actual main actor, rapper 50 Cent alias Curtis Jackson. Even if Jackson tries hard and does a good job, he lacks the necessary charisma to carry an action movie like this. In the opening sequence, in which Sonny is allowed to act quite relaxed, Jackson is quite convincing, but whenever things get a bit more dramatic, his acting weaknesses become all too obvious. Now, one could argue that a film like Set Up doesn't want to be great acting cinema, and even seasoned mimes like Bruce Willis perform below their actual level.

That's true as far as it goes, and it's certainly why the film ultimately works despite the acting flaws. But even though this is primarily about entertainment, the character of Sonny demands a bit of character depth - and Curtis Jackson's performance simply lacks that. The second weak point is the fact that director Mike Gunther can't quite decide at the beginning whether he wants to direct a realistic thriller in the style of Ben Affleck's The Town or a rather wacky action comedy a la Guy Ritchie. This makes for a somewhat indecisive picture whose individual parts work well on their own, but together seem a bit forced, especially at the beginning.

What this thriller can't be accused of, however, is being boring. Gunther drives the action through the scant 80 minutes at a good pace and refrains from going on for too long. Admittedly, this leaves the characters a bit pale and the story full of logic holes, but genre fans shouldn't really be bothered by that. So if you can overlook the weak points of the production and put up with only a little Bruce Willis and a lot of 50 Cent, this thriller with a little action and humor can be recommended. Recommended!

Picture + Sound: While the clean and satisfyingly sharp image with its cool coloring provides a coherent atmosphere, the sound is initially rather negatively noticed that the German dialogue sometimes seems to be mixed a bit dull. This impression is relativized after a while, but remains until the end of the feeling that here, especially with the dts mix would have been much more urgent. The surround effects, on the other hand, are well implemented and provide some very listenable moments during the various firefights.

Extras: In addition to the original trailer for the film and other programming tips from the provider, the DVD also has a short making of, three insightful interviews and a look inside the film's gun cabinet to offer. Concise, but not uninteresting!

Conclusion: Set Up is suspenseful thriller that suffers only from the lead actor's lack of charisma and the somewhat overstuffed story. The fast-paced production and the somewhat too brief appearance of Bruce Willis, however, ensure that the entertainment value of the film is at a good level. The DVD is technically well implemented, the bonus material is kept scarce, but well worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp