MovieChat Forums > Redbelt (2008) Discussion > Great film, but...

Great film, but...

posted 15 years ago by caressque
5 replies | jump to latest

1. The cop takes his gun out of the holster and sets it down. Does it not have a safety or what? He just leaves it sitting there, even when someone runs into the place and is obviously distraught. You'd think a trained police officer wouldn't leave his weapon in just any old public place.

2. The plot was just confusing. Why did Allen's character screw over Terry? Why did Terry need to enter the competition at all? If his wife was in on some set-up, then why would she need the money from the winnings to settle her $30,000 debt? Why did Allen make Terry a co-producer of a Hollywood film and just bail on him the next day?

3. Why would a police officer take a $20,000 watch to a pawn shop? You take gold watches to a jewelry store or auction it off over a computer or something. A dirty pawn shop that sells 25 cent SNES games won't be able to pay you off for that.

A lot of the mistakes or slip-ups are important plot points and had the filmmakers spent a little more time thinking about it, it would've made it better.

[–] bogustanny 15 years ago

Definitely too many characters/subplots that weren't thoroughly explored. Sometimes Mamet manages to explain everything cohesively, sometimes not...

Also, I got the impression Chet was a dupe and his producer friend and both wives were all independently trying to play everybody else.

[–] xpac403 15 years ago

i went to college in myrtle beach and lived pretty close to "dicks pawn shop" one of three in the area...they were a lisenced dealer in rolex watches and had some from 5000 all the way to like 25000.....there are certainly some pawn shops with extensive jewelery inventories, that's not where the disconnect was for me. number 2 on your list...I have NO idea why he was screwed over...why go through the trouble? I assumed b/c A) he is now in the position to embarrass them b/c he knows that they were in possession of stolen property and B) they stumbled on an opportunity to use his methods and ideas and C) it was to show how small the attention spans of hollywood are and how nobody ever means what they say

"It's not personal Sonny, it's strictly business"

[–] orangewarm 15 years ago

he unlocks the safety first and then gets distracted by the teacher.

i dont think tim allen's character was trying to screw him - i just think he was embarrassed about the watch and then his friend just manipulated the situation to get something out of it.

pawn shop is easier - not everyone knows how to use e-bay the cop looked like he was desperate for money - and seems emotionally (ie doesnt always think straight) driven.

[–] kamas716 15 years ago

I didn't see him take the safety off, but I wasn't paying that close of attention to it. He did seem distracted.

I also agree that Allen's character wasn't actively trying to screw him over. I got the impression that the Joe Mantegna character was screwing him over, and convinced Allen's character to cut ties with him. I think the Ricky Jay character took full advantage of everything to get his way, irregardless of what the consequences were for anyone else.

I'm not sure why Joe the cop would take the watch to a pawn shop as opposed to a jewelry store. I've never been in that situation. I've known people that would contemplate suicide as opposed to dealing with any sort of disgrace. I've never known any law enforcement officers that would take that route, they usually have a better, wider perspective of life moving on. I could see him resigning, but not the suicide, unless other things were going on (that weren't covered in the film).

[–] 15 years ago

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