The Hard Word (2002)
Average Rating: 5.5/10
Reviews Counted: 82
Fresh: 33 | Rotten: 49
This caper flick lacks the originality necessary to elevate it above other films of its genre.
Average Rating: 5.5/10
Critic Reviews: 27
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 17
This caper flick lacks the originality necessary to elevate it above other films of its genre.
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Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 2,029
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Movie Info
Three brothers who would argue that crime does pay have a hard time getting their fair share of the proceeds in this witty action thriller from Australia. Dale Twentyman (Guy Pearce) and his brothers, Mal (Damien Richardson) and Shane (Joel Edgerton), are serving time together in prison for robbery. Dale is the brains and the cool head of the group, Mal is the eager-to-please nice guy, and Shane is something of a loose cannon. Dale and his siblings are eager to get out of jail, and their lawyer,
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Cast
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Guy Pearce
Dale Twentyman -
Rachel Griffiths
Carol Twentyman -
Robert Taylor
Frank Malone -
Joel Edgerton
Shane Twentyman -
Damien Richardson
Mal Twentyman -
Rhondda Findleton
Jane Moore -
Kate Atkinson
Pamela -
Vince Colosimo
Det. Mick Kelly -
Paul Sonkkila
Det. Jack O'Riordan -
Kim Gyngell
Paul -
Dorian Nkono
Tarzan -
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All Critics (90) | Top Critics (29) | Fresh (33) | Rotten (51) | DVD (11)
It is at most a middling effort.
Top CriticThe movie-jaded will dismiss The Hard Word as just another slick heist flick with a band of burglar buddies. Too bad for their cynical souls. They'll be missing a grand (theft) time.
Roberts stuffs the film with clever twists that keep us one step behind the plot, which is where you want to be in a heist picture.
Just when you think you've got it all figured out, there's another disorienting jolt.
'Amiable' is an odd way to describe a crime drama that contains wall-spattering amounts of bloodshed, but it fits The Hard Word.
A Tarantino-esque mishmash of tough crime cliches spit out in Aussie accents.
Undemanding derivative caper film.
A nearly unrecognizable Guy Pearce gives a solid performance in an otherwise forgettable film
You always get the feeling here that Roberts never actually knows where he's going with it.
Every heist movie trope is trotted out and given an Australian accent.
The film seems unsure what it wants to be about, only that it wants to be edgy while it's doing it.
This Aussie thriller is all about characters -- interesting characters, and several of them could hold a movie on their own.
Not everything works... but Roberts' knack for realistic action, hard-bitten dialogue and finding humor in unexpected places keeps your attention to the finish.
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