Directors: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Adrian Martinez, Gerald McRaney, Rodrigo Santoro, BD Wong
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Run Time: 104 minutes
Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars
Will Smith really hasn’t delivered box office gold recently after “Men in Black 3” and “After Earth”, unfortunately “Focus” isn’t the winner that we were all hoping for either. It is not a terrible film, it was well-shot and has great performances from upcoming “Suicide Squad” stars Will Smith and Margot Robbie but the story really didn’t interest me and it felt very bland and forgettable. Maybe worth a rental if you are all caught up on your TV but otherwise, nothing special here. I would wait for the stars next team-up with “Suicide Squad”.
Official Premise: Will Smith stars as Nicky, a seasoned master of misdirection who becomes romantically involved with novice con artist Jess (Margot Robbie). As he’s teaching her the tricks of the trade, she gets too close for comfort and he abruptly breaks it off. Three years later, the former flame—now an accomplished femme fatale—shows up in Buenos Aires in the middle of the high stakes racecar circuit. In the midst of Nicky’s latest, very dangerous scheme, she throws his plans for a loop…and the consummate con man off his game.
The Blu-ray presentation on the other hand is actually very impressive. The 1080p transfer is well shot and really looks sharp. The star of the show though is the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track, which kills for this film. I was really impressed. The special features are decent as well. There is a featurette on the film’s characters in “Masters of Misdirection: The Players in a Con”. There are also individuals chats with the leads in “Will Smith: Gentleman Thief” and “Margot Robbie: Stealing Hearts”. LAstly there are Deleted Scenes and a Blu-ray exclusive Alternate Opening included.
Own “Focus” on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD on June 2nd