Paul Walker, Laurence Fishburne, and Olivia Wilde definitely earned their keep in this one.The most random and unlikely of situations land Paul Walker in the drug cartel with 3 different groups of people out to kill him and no one thinks he is the same person.The only questionable acting in this movie was from the kid (Paul Walkers kid).The action is heavy, the plot good, and the ending very unlikely.I think it was a great movie though and if you have a chance to see it, please do.

Feeling, and looking, like an extended episode of CSI, "The Death and Life of Bobby Z" is uninspiring and boring. The story is silly and convoluted, involving a usually lack-lustre Paul Walker impersonating a legendary Drug Dealer, played by the deliciously floppy haired Jason Lewis. Laurence Fishburne plods along with a by-the-numbers bad guy role and Olivia Wilde as the love-interest, female lead is dull and mediocre. Paul walker is one of the worst actors in Hollywood today. How does he keep on getting work? Not very inspired but less than discerning viewers may enjoy all the running and shooting and explosions. Snooze!

This movie could have been a lot more jazzed up for its weak plot. The movie's plot as such is given away in the first few minutes. I could guess the rest of the movie in first 5 minutes. Paul Walker's acting is at its low in this movie. Lawrence Fishborne, could he even take up such movies after Matrix. This movie seems like nothing but amateur direction and production. The "real" character of Bobby Z is so weak. After all the hype about him being a legend, I mean the last few scenes he seems nothing less than a monkey on dope. Overall, the thin plot could have been thickened and the movie could have been jazzed up. I think Paul Walker did a better job in Running scared than this movie.

How this story of freeing a deadly criminal from prison to act as a stand-in for an at large criminal (Bobby Z) to bring revenge and closure to corruption on every level of the playing field can continue to be reproduced ad infinitum will remain a puzzle. This tired, poorly acted, hyper kinetic desert film wastes the talent of some good actors, gives plenty of killings to watch, and then introduces counterfeit kindness as a reason for making the film, is a movie to avoid.Paul Walker is the released Bobby Z look-alike who will be freed from his life in prison by Laurence Fishburne's cop image if he merely shows up in Mexico as bait for drug lord Joaquin de Almeida's hostage demands for Fishburne's partner. Of course it all goes wrong at the exchange point, allowing the fake Bobby Z to find a female interest (Olivia Wilde) as well as a little boy (J.R. Villarreal) who is supposedly the son of the real Bobby Z (and therefore is taken in by the fake Bobby Z), and the rest is just a messy chase sequence and series of killings and kidnappings. The bad guys outnumber the good guys, and, well the rest is yesterday's sandwich. Not recommended even if there is nothing else on the shelves to rent! Grady Harp