The premise of Suicide Kings - four young and privileged men kidnap a retired mob boss played by Christopher Walken - is appealing. So much so that it makes me wish it made for a better film.Suicide Kings tries to be a psychological thriller focusing on mental cat-and-mouse games between the mobsters and his kidnappers, and the actors are good enough to pull it off - in fact, they're good enough to make you think that there's any psychological depth to the film, when really there's none. Walken and the talented young cast - Denis Leary, Jay Mohr, Sean Patrick Flanery (The Boondock Saints), Jeremy Sisto (Law & Order), Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory) and Henry Thomas (E.T's Elliot all grown up) - all deliver their lines with so much passion and conviction that you almost don't notice how messy and shallow the script really is.This fine group of actors - and Walken's wildly charismatic performance most of all, from an actor so powerful he can dominate the film while being tied to a chair for all but a few minutes of it - is more than enough to make the film entertaining, even very enjoyable. The weak script, which deteriorates into cheap twists and conspiracies towards the end - makes it entirely forgettable. A quick comparison to Danny Boyle's Shallow Grave is a testament to how much more comfortable the British are with theatrical minimalism. With a great director and a great script, Suicide Kings could have been something wonderful. As it is, it's good enough for one pleasurable watch, but leaves no mark and no impression.

Sometimes you just stumble upon a really good movie. Such is the case with Suicide Kings. Largely overlooked upon its initial release and by now all but forgotten this is a movie which deserved to be seen by a much wider audience. It's highly entertaining with a great balance of dramatic tension and humor. The story has enough twists in it to keep you guessing right up until the end.Christopher Walken plays the central role of businessman "Charlie Barret" around whom everything in our story revolves. Why is that character's name in quotes? Because while he's now gone legit once upon a time Charlie was mob kingpin Carlo Bartolucci. While he may be a little out of practice there is no doubt that Charlie is still a man to be feared. Which makes kidnapping him and cutting off one of his fingers a rather bad idea. But that is what a group of young men do, ostensibly because one of them has a sister who has just been kidnapped and her finger was cut off and...well, it's complicated. They think Charlie can use his old connections to find the girl and get the ransom money. Surely there had to be a better way to go about this than tying a mob boss to a chair and cutting off his appendages but that's their plan and they're sticking to it. But it doesn't take long for things to begin to unravel. And that's where the movie's fun truly begins.Walken is a delight and surely the best thing the film has to offer although Denis Leary runs him close with his profane, explosive performance as Charlie's bodyguard Lono Veccio. None of the actors playing the kidnapping "masterminds" really stands out but they work well together. And that is important as Charlie starts playing off these close friends against one another. Charlie's no dummy, he realizes very quickly that this whole sister being kidnapped story has holes in it large enough to drive a truck through. What's really going on here? Charlie pokes and prods and breeds distrust. He has his kidnappers questioning everything, most especially each other. Charlie's tied to a chair, down to nine fingers, slowly bleeding to death but somehow he's got the upper hand. Walken is spot-on perfect and his performance really elevates the film. And the smart story with all its twists and turns keeps you captivated throughout, playing along with the characters as you and they try to get to the real truth. It's not a perfect movie. When it tries too hard to be funny, most notably with the character of Ira played by Johnny Galecki who is obviously there for comic relief, the humor falls a little flat. Things work much better when the humor is more subtle. And for as obviously well-thought out as the plot is it doesn't quite all come together perfectly in the end. It all makes sense when you think about it but the movie does seem to get a little bogged down when it ultimately gets around to explaining itself. But all in all Suicide Kings works very well. Somewhat of a hidden gem.

This is a fun movie about a kidnapping gone wrong. The kidnappers are generally spoiled, rich "kids" in their 20s who trick an old mobster, played by Christopher Walken, into taking a ride with them. They hold him hostage and he cleverly manipulates them to fight with each other. there's nothing too dark, and the dialog and dynamic with the younger characters is really solid. Dennis Leary's mobster role is funny and angry and brutal in just the right doses.***Possible spoiler*** Most of the way through the film I was convinced there would be a killer climax. The problem is that the story is leading you to believe that there's an "inside man..." but when you find out who it really is, it seems misleading. The motivations behind the actions of the kidnappers don't quite add up, particularly Avery and Max's interaction. The flashback sections of the story lead you to think one way, but don't come off as too convincing. On the other hand, the movie's good at digging into these different personalities and Walken, Leary and the Ira character are really compelling. (It seems a lot of people didn't like Ira but he's pretty a very important foil for the others and the film would lose a lot without him. Plus, he's awfully convincing as the uptight kiss-up geek.) The twists are pretty cool, and not too tricky to get, just a little contradictory when you consider all the different ways the movie could have gone. But this was the way to make it interesting and not so obvious.Well worth renting or picking up used.

When was the last time you saw a movie where the director actually had the power to show his creativity. What works for this movie is the fact that it has no hero or villains, there are only characters. This is what makes it so real. Five college kids kidnap a supposed to be mafia Charlie(Christopher Walken) because they need help to get their sister back who has been kidnapped.Whole drama takes place in a deserted house where Charlie is held hostage.Secrets are revealed and twists follow . Walken lends a charisma to his role . As the tag line says their plan was perfect they weren't. Its a small budget thriller which does keep you glued to screen nothing less nothing more