I am a firm believer that at this point in time that there are very few truly 'original' stories. What makes stories great, whether it be on screen or written is how they are told. All of the films that Johnson has written bring to mind something 'classical.' He likes to pay homage without ripping off and it is refreshing in this day and age. All of the characters seem to be transplanted from a late 60's to early 70's film, but none of them play it as a character from a specific film. Trancredi for instance loves Steve McQueen. He even purchases a pair of the classic Persol 714 McQueen wore on screen. Even with the McQueen love, you never once feel Trancredi is written as McQueen, nor is Ross McCall trying to play Mcqueen. He's just a cool guy, played by a great actor.
The rest of the cast is excellent as well. I've loved Julie Warner since "Tommy Boy" and Ed Lauter (in his final role) can do wrong. Eric Roberts is always a joy to watch. Brian Tee is becoming someone exciting to watch as well.
As far as action goes, "The Beautiful Ones" action has more to do with straight up violence and consequence rather than looking 'cool.' Don't get me wrong, what Johnson and stunt coordinator Luke LaFontaine crafted for the gun and knife battles are fantastic, but don't go in expecting non-stop gun play. Instead look for something more old school and real with squibs and blood as opposed to CG bullshit. You might wait for it, but when it hits it hits hard.
It should be said that "The Beautiful Ones" is a different kind of gangster film. Art-house gangster maybe? While that definition leaves much to be desired "The Beautiful Ones" really doesn't fall into your normal gangster category but that probably has to do more with the film feeling quite a bit more personal than the norm. And that is something that has been lacking in most of the films I watch now.
Check it out when it gets a wide release. Until then, here is the trailer.
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