The Family
Sneak Peek at "The Family"
By this stage of the game, you'd feel like a well respected, serious actor like Robert DeNiro would have answered all the questions he might ever have about being a mod guy. He's done it all, comedy to violence to whimsical. You almost get the feeling it's an area he shouldn't return to unless the film's subject is REALLY good.
You don't get that vibe with The Family.
This action comedy from Luc Besson (the fella behind Liam Neeson's career reviving Taken franchise) follows the tale of The Manzoni family, a notorious mafia clan, who are relocated to Normandy in France under the witness protection program. However, it soon becomes clear that you can take the boy out of Brooklyn, but you can't the Brooklyn out of the boy... because it's not long until they are falling back into their old habits.
There's a great cast assembled for this (including De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee Jones) however there is nothing about it that screams originality or interesting in any way. It looks like it's aiming for laughs over intensity and, in theory, that could be its downfall.
That said, I could be completely wrong and The Family might turn out to be a huge hit - and not just a straight to DVD fizzer. Only time will tell, Gangster lovers are a mysterious bunch to predict after all.
