Focus is a film which stars Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Gerald McRaney and Rodrigo Santoro. The film is being directed by both Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. Some may know these directors for their work with Crazy Stupid Love (2011) which they both also directed as well as I Love You Phillip Morris (2009).
Focus Trailer
Focus is a film which follows the story of Nicky (Will Smith) who has been a con man for a long time and is very good at it. But one day he decides to take a young and attractive woman (Margot Robbie) under his wing and trains her to be just like him. But things get complicated when the two become romantically involved. Nicky breaks things off because his lifestyle does not allow for things like love. Three years pass with the two not seeing each other and Nicky is now working on his latest con, when suddenly Jess (Margot Robbie) reappears and things start getting complicated. What could she be up to?
When I was initially watching the trailers for Focus I was unsure if the movie would be any good. I wasn’t really certain from the trailers whether or not Will Smith and Margot Robbie will be good together in a film, but I’m happy to say that it appears they have good chemistry together on screen. The dialogue of the film is fun and the there are a lot of jokes here and there which made the audience laugh. Margot Robbie and Will Smith were great together in this film and when you consider that they will be working together on the Suicide Squad film I think it’s a good sign that the two should do well together from watching them here.
All the actors are entertaining and deliver their lines perfectly. It looked to me that everyone was having a lot of fun making this and really having a great time with it all. Margot Robbie looks gorgeous on screen in almost every scene she is in and Will Smith is very energetic to watch. Gerald McRaney is as intimidating as ever as the adviser of Garriga, a formula one race car owner and central focus point for one of Nicky’s cons. Rodrigo Santoro is good as well with his role as Garriga but it might have been nicer if he was in the film a bit more.
As far as the directing goes from both Glenn Ficarra John Requa it was good. The movie is very light and entertaining and I think its tone is very enjoyable. I had a good time with the film and I don’t really have anything to complain about it really. Will Smith’s character though is constantly giving advise to Margot Robbie’s character of Jess and I think he’s kind of similar to his character in Hitch (2005) is some ways.
The use of music is well done with a lot of it being used in almost all the scenes and I think the use of colour on both the characters in terms of what they wore but also with the sets was nicely done. The movie just has an entertaining feel to it and while the story may not be completely original as there are many films about conning people, it did keep me guessing all the way through. Some could argue that the ending is a bit flat though but I guess they had to finish it off somewhere.
Some of the side characters who pop up here and there are quite good. There is one long scene between Will Smith’s Nicky and BD Wong’s Liyuan, which was really great. BD Wong really stood out in that scene and was a great character. Some may know BD Wong for his work in Law And Order: SVU where he played Dr. George Huang.
Overall Focus is an entertaining film with a story that can keep you guessing all the way through. Will Smith and Margot Robbie were great together in this and all other actors were of the same quality as well. The movie is very bright and colourful, has a fun tone, has a lot of laughs and is very entertaining to watch. I’d say if you’re looking for something light to watch then Focus is the film for you.
