Focus – Film Review

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Glenn Ficarra and John Requa direct Focus, a film starring all-star actors such as Will Smith and Margot Robbie. But, does the film manage to be as amazing as its cast?

An extremely talented con artist named Nicky (Will Smith) meets a girl one day named Jess (Margot Robbie) who also happens to be interested in the art of the con. Together, the two of them set out to do as many con artist missions as possible to earn the most money.

Focus is a film that is highly entertaining and has great performances from Smith and Robbie, respectively. Smith effortlessly portrays Nicky, a man who has been an expert con artist for a long time. Robbie, who plays Jess, is fascinated by the act of con artistry, but does not really know how to pull it off successfully. Naturally, this can make some genuinely funny moments in the film as Nicky has to teach Jess all the right ways. The two have electric chemistry on screen together, often feeling like they have known each other for decades.

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Will Smith (left) as Nicky and Margot Robbie (right) as Jess in Focus (2015)

It is also a really interesting film, as the film does greatly explore the life of Nicky, and what is inside his head when he steals things. These moments, while great, can drag from time to time, unfortunately.

The ending was one that I was not necessarily fond of either, unfortunately. So many things occur within the last twenty or so minutes that it can at times be a little difficult to keep up with what exactly is happening. Eventually, the end does get filled with tropes, which is so unfortunate, as the rest of the film beforehand, cleverly found ways to avoid this. Some parts of the ending were disappointingly laughable because of how absurd some things really are in the finale.

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Will Smith (left) as Nicky and Margot Robbie (right) as Jess in Focus (2015)

Focus also has some really bizarre and questionable editing techniques. So many scenes transition back and forth from one another that it can be a bit nauseating. One second we can see Robbie or Smith’s face, then something else, then back to Robbie and Smith’s face, then back to something else all the time.

Even though it can be absurd and goofy at times, Focus is a highly entertaining heist film boosted by the likes of Will Smith and Margot Robbie.

Overall Grade: B

MPAA Rating: Rated R for language, some sexual content and brief violence

Cast: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro, Gerald McRaney

Directed by: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures

Running Time: 104 minutes

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