The Death and Life of Bobby Z (2007) (aka Bobby Z)

Review: written Apr 2020

Scattershot plot, barely held together by Walker’s charm

Hard now not to watch this movie and lament the loss of the late Paul Walker. His blonde-and-blue-eyed good looks and easy charm made him an amiable screen presence. He might not have had the chops to become a great actor, but he had star quality. This movie is immensely helped by having him in the lead role – a loser with charm, who has ended up in jail and has little hope of leaving it unscathed. Step up Laurence Fishburne as a somewhat dubious FBI agent who gives him a way out – pretend to be Bobby Z, a highly successful drug dealer who knows how to live the high life. He is needed as part of a prisoner swap with a South American druglord, who has personal reasons to want Bobby Z back which may be more personal than business. Along the way he meets a boy who he finds out was Bobby Z’s love child, and Olivia Wilde who is caught in the middle of events, as the number of people hunting for him increases with every move.

Its tone is all over the place – a script that never sounds natural or less than clunky, a caper like mood and music, and yet some pretty crunchy action scenes too, with a subplot about father figure / son bonding. Perhaps a clever director could have wrangled this into something more memorable or meaningful, as it is we have something fitfully engaging with a few chuckles, a few grimaces, and Olivia Wilde looking every bit like she would capture the heart of those around her.

It has some nice moments, some punchy action pieces, but a little too many elements to hang together into something that means anything. At the end I won’t lie, I was a little bit entertained, but I’m already forgetting it, despite some decent performances.