116 out of 120 people found the following review helpful:

*** May contain spoilers ***

We Own The Night

ValleyJohn from , 12th March, 2008

I must review over 150 movies a year . Sometimes , when i am on a bad run , it can become a chore . But what makes sitting through another laugh less Will Ferrell movie a little more acceptable is when an unexpected gem comes along that blows you away. We own the night is one such gem.

Bobby Green has turned his back on the family business. The popular manager of El Caribe, the legendary Russian-owned nightclub in Brooklyn's Brighton Beach, he has changed his last name and concealed his connection to a long line of distinguished New York cops. For Bobby, every night is a party, as he greets friends and customers or dances with his beautiful Puerto Rican girlfriend, Amada, in a haze of cigarette smoke and disco music. But it's 1988, and New York City's drug trade is escalating. Bobby tries to keep a friendly distance from the Russian gangster who is operating out of the nightclub--a gangster who is being targeted by his brother, Joseph, an up-and-coming NYPD officer, and his father, Burt, the legendary deputy chief of police.


I'm not sure what was released the same week at We own the night but it must have been great for this to have slipped under the radar . I don't remember it getting a great deal of publicity or even a lot of reviewers column inches but it sure as hell should have!

Joaquin Phoenix is fantastic as Bobby Green .A man so stuck between a rock and a hard place that his life is in tatters . consumed by grief and suffering an intolerable amount of stress this emotional performance is of the highest quality . There are several scenes that Joaquin manages to get right into the skin of Bobby . Thanks to this talented actor , you feel his hate and anger , his frustration and his grief and that is something not many leading men can manage to do .

There are also good performances from Eva Mendes and the Legendary Robert Duvall.
Mark Wahlberg is always expressionless when acting and the same goes for his portrayal of Joseph . He's a little too one dimensional but because he picks his films well his inabilities as an actor seem to be forgotten .


Considering this film is two hours long it seemed to fly by and if anything could have benefited with maybe another half an hour .
There are two scenes especially that stand out for me. One is when Bobby confronts his brother after his is taken in when his club is raided and the other is the car chase scene when his father gets shot . Both are compelling as they are shocking.

The closest i can compare this film to is The Departed . The subject matter is very similar but i liked this better . It's grittier and has a sound track that will bring back many great memories if you were an eighties teenager like me.

If i had to criticise this film for anything it is that the final showdown with the Russians was a little bit of an anti climax considering how edgy the rest of the film was. .

This is soon forgotton when in a moving final scene the two brothers tell each other exactly how they feel .
A fitting climax to a brilliant film.

9 out of 10

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22 out of 24 people found the following review helpful:

Brilliant

richard from , 3rd May, 2008

very good though the only downside was the mumbling, at times Phoenix was very hard to make out - this may have had something to do with the way he was constantly slurping the face off his girlfriend and it obviously lead to some sort of lip paralysis ( the slurping bits are ok to fast forward through as you miss nothing & believe me they are really irritating after a while!!)

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21 out of 23 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent

A Customer from Bargoed, 2nd May, 2008

What can I say what a film,if u like ur crime dramas u won't go wrong with this

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14 out of 16 people found the following review helpful:

Star of the night

A Customer from Edinburgh, 10th May, 2008

This is an amazing film, the acting is oustanding, especially Joaquin Phoenix, the story is extremely well written and well worth a look, this is a movie i will rent agian and then no doubt probably buy - get this ASAP

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Maybe Not

RedICritic from , 20th March, 2010

When I saw the preview's in the theater, I really wanted to see this picture. I never did. It's dramic when a 'good brother - bad brother' go against each other and the father's relationship with both during their struggle. I've written a script about troubled youth in the violent world of organized crime and have been intrigued by it's problems. I cannot fault the acting. Maybe I'm just tired of watching that world. If you're into the intrigues of the mafia, drug trafficing and the world they live, this movie is for you.

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Superb- glued to the set!

Reets from , 16th March, 2010

This was an intense piece of cinema. The cast gave superb performances and the plot was intriguing. The director of photography did a great job.

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we own the night ,,,,WHY

magpiepaul from , 14th March, 2010

after watching this I felt it was important to warn people about how bad this film is a very poor godfarther

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Great

OldBot from , 3rd March, 2010

Really enjoyed this one. It was difficult to understand Mr. Phoenix some of the time. Good story-line and good acting. Very watchable !

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