A very funny film that's definitely a product of it's time. Having never seen Get Shorty or read the book, I enjoyed it a lot.

This is a cold movie, a thing born of calculation and mechanisms in motion. It was not created by human hands but rather by large robotic engines that toil in an industrial area in southern California called Hollywood. Humanoid machines powered by chemical engines appear before an apparatus which captures light and motion and color. Standing outside the range of the camera's lens another humanoid machine issues commands to the humanoid machines standing within the camera's focus, based on this director's commands the actors attempt to comply. Alas the machines are clumsy and they have been programmed by inferior programmers, the code that propels these robots is both faulty and limited. In a factory this movie was manufactured, packaged and then distributed specifically for you to consume.

Get Shorty this is not. The fact that the book was not an impressive sequel either sort of squashes the fact that the movie is a faithful adaptation of sub-par material. Travolta as Chilli Palmer in the original only helped solidify his 'comeback' that started with Pulp Fiction. Travolta reprising his role as Chilli Palmer is going back to the well one too many times, as is his teaming up with Uma Thurman. For those that wanted to know what it would've been like if Vincent Vega ever got with Mia Wallace needs to look no further than this movie, because in the alternate universe this is what would happen. And not that this is really Travolta, Thurman, or even Elmore Leonard's faults... the fault here is too many characters occupying too much space in limited time. The Good: The Rock as the aspiring homosexual actor/ bodyguard who steals the show from the more seasoned vets. Andre Benjamin, also the other non-seasoned actor, gets some nice quips when squaring against Travolta and Cedric the Entertainer. The late Robert Pastorelli provides the funniest line in the movie, 'What is it with f***ots and bright shiny red things?!'. The Bad: chemistry, none between Travolta and Thurman. Harvey Keitel channeling his inner-DeNiro parodying himself. F. Gary Gray stepping out of his usual style and seemingly putting together a job-for-hire film. The Ugly: Vince Vaughn doing the same spiel he's done in Swingers, Made, Wedding Crashers, Old School, etc. Christina Milan, her music in the movie doesn't sound like a hit and her performing with Aerosmith at the end is straight Swiss Cheeseball. Steven Tyler playing Steven Tyler and not succeeding at that. The lost focus that this is supposed to be Chilli Palmer's movie but is pulled in too many directions that it stretches it's short running time into what seems like an epic, when all it needed to be was smaller in the beginning.

Without a doubt one of the worst movies of all time. Get Shorty (the predecessor by 10 years) is without a doubt one of the best and smartest comedies to come along in a long time. This movie tried way too hard to 'be cool' and it completely fell flat on its face. Was the whole thing supposed to be a joke and I just missed it? It's unfortunate because a lot of the cast members are great performers, but many of them felt miscast. This movie has every stereotype in the book, every cliché, every bad ripoff of scenes from Get Shorty and Pulp Fiction and it does all of them horribly. How do you screw up clichés? Watch this movie and you'll have your answer.