Dressed as Elvis Presley, five criminals rob a casino during an Elvis impersonator convention, however, disagreements over what to do with the money bring about dire consequences in this action comedy starring Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell. The film curiously divides rather evenly into three sections. The first section is the easily the best involving the cleverly planned and rather unique heist with comic relief in plentiful supply; Russell makes such a convincing Elvis that oblivious casino guests constantly compliment him on it and even ask him to sign a record! The second section comes with less zest but is engaging in its own right as Russell bonds with the abandoned son of a woman he had a one-night-stand with. Played by David Kaye, he is a surprisingly sassy and quick-witted lad and his chemistry with Russell feels very real. The film conks out somewhat in the third section though with mindless action in plenty supply and a character who incredulously keeps carrying on despite being wounded, shot and even (literally) stung. The upbeat ending does not quite sit right either. This is a much better film than one would expect though considering its reputation (Razzie nominated for Worst Picture in its day). It may be true that the movie falls apart as it progresses but its treats and delights from early on stick vividly in the mind. The character trajectory of the young boy is especially interesting as goes from impersonating Jesse James and playing outlaw to actually becoming an outlaw, or assistant to one, during the course of the film.

Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner, Courteney Cox, David Kaye, Christian Slater, David Arquette, Bokeem Woodbine, Kevin Pollak, Thomas Haden Church, Howie Long and Ice-T star in this 2001 action film. This begins with ex-con, Michael (Russell) who works with a group of men, Murphy (Costner), Hanson (Slater), Gus (Arquette) and Franklin (Woodbine) pulling off a Las Vegas casino heist dressed as Elvis Presley impersonators. Soon, things go bad when Franklin is shot in the process by cops and Murphy decides to kill Hanson, Gus and Michael for the money. Michael survives and tries to get the stolen money back, but has help when he meets attractive woman, Cybil (Cox) and her young son, Jesse (Kaye). Pollak (The Usual Suspects) plays cop, Damitry, Church (Spider-Man 3) plays his partner, Quigley, Long (Broken Arrow) plays pilot, Jack and T (New Jack City) plays gun expert, Hamilton. This is a good action flick with a cool cast and Costner is a good bad guy. I recommend this.

To enjoy this movie, you need to know what kind of movie to expect going in. Don't expect it to be about Elvis per se, although he does play a large role in the background. So if you came to this movie because you are an Elvis fan you may or may not be disappointed. Also don't expect it to be a polished critical classic like Gone with the Wind. Do expect it to be campy, over-the-top, and fun. Too many people go into the film expecting it to be something it isn't, and that ruins the experience for them.This film is what is known as a cult classic. It did not do well on its initial release, but people have come to appreciate it over time. It is a film to watch when you want to unwind and see some pure entertainment.It has all the elements of a classic late-night guys' popcorn flick. It has lots of guns, action, hot women, hot cars, and the classic showdown between good and evil. It also has a lot of laughs with a bit of quirky randomness. The plot holes are numerous, and the dialogue is sometimes stilted, but for some reason you just don't care, because the film is fun.Kevin Costner gives one of his best performances here (although everything Costner does is pure gold). You will love every scene he is in. Everyone did a great job, but Costner made the movie.One bit of a warning: the opening sequence is really odd, and only becomes clear after you have watched the whole movie, so try to keep an open mind.

Just finished watching this movie and after 10 years it has only gotten harder to view. There are some nice actors that have since gone on to bigger things, and some old actors that we haven't heard much from lately, so I thought it was worth a repeat view.I was a bit off the mark. There are some decent scenes, and it was nice to see familiar faces portraying somewhat interesting characters, but the premise of the film is so lacking credibility that I felt irritated throughout.First of all, if you are going to rob a casino full of Elvis impersonators while being dressed like Elvis why don't you use this to help escape or blend in?? Then, how do you spray every camera except the one that shows you taking the money? Why would you then have to go through the entire casino floor to get to the roof? This would perhaps be the most ridiculous- but it is topped by the struggle which makes up the entire rest of the movie- the money is taken from HARD COUNT.Now anyone who knows anything about casinos knows that they take in a lot of cash money. This money has to be counted (these are the people in the room where the gang-o-thieves grab the cash). This is not money from the bank but money going to the bank and therefore this money is in no way marked and there is absolutely NO REASON for it to be marked. So going to find someone to launder this cash is completely idiotic. Therefore the rest of this movie is idiotic and makes no sense whatsoever. Really people, I know this isn't supposed to be real life but base a movie on some sort of reality. Or else call it science fiction or fantasy or something. This was so far fetched that I couldn't objectively watch the rest. Too bad? Or maybe just as well.