Raul Faust Although I've never really been a fan of action films, "The Death and Life of Bobby Z" is a film that I saw when I was much younger, and it's one of the few of the genre that I can still remember of. Last night I watched it again, and I may now understand why it's so good: it has a very cool plot. This story's writers have invented a lot of messy situations in which corrupt people and criminals try to fool each other, and the one who gets away with it is, obviously, our nostalgic actor Paul Walker. He plays a convicted that needs to pretend being the famous Bobby Z, in order to escape from his certain next conviction. It feels right, for me, to state that Walker does his job perfectly, despite the fact that he looks more like a model than like a bandit. His character in here is similar to Van Damme's in 1999's "Inferno". Directing is also very well done, delivering plenty of enjoyable scenes, which end up bringing irony and fun, instead of suspense-- which is more often in action films. So, long story short, "The Death and Life of Bobby Z" is a project that proves to be GREAT, and I really want to know why it's still so unknown in mainstream.

lastliberal To see Thirteen (Olivia Wilde) from House makes the movie a "must-see" all by itself. But there is much more promise in this film with action star Paul Walker, and the ever popular Laurence Fishburne.Walker is playing this drug dealer and is trying to get Fishburne's partner back. You know, what can go wrong, will go wrong. Now, he is on his own.The name of the game here is action. From the first scene, we see Tim/Bobby (Walker) getting in trouble, and it never stops. After an exciting horse/motorcycle chase, he takes off with his (Bobby's) son. He has the feds, the drug lords, and a biker gang after him. Not a good bet to survive, but he is an ex-Marine. Never bet against the Marines.Don't expect anything more than fast action and you will not be disappointed.Joaquim de Almeida, who you should remember as Bucho in Desperado, is the bad guy here.I can forgive anything director John Herzfeld does in this film as I am forever grateful for his introduction of the hot Charlize Theron in 2 Days in the Valley.

zardoz-13 "15 Minutes" director John Herzfeld's "Bobby Z" rates as an above-average action thriller with double-crosses, shoot'em ups, and surprises, but everything seems a little too routine in the long run. "Fast & Furious" star Paul Walker plays three-time loser Tim Kearney. Herzfeld and scenarists Bob "4 AM: Open All Night" Krakower and Allen Lawrence recount Kearney's career in an amusing series of flashbacks that may be the funniest thing about "Bobby Z." In short, "Bobby Z" is a tolerable beer and pizza movie with an R-rating and about 90 minutes worth of mayhem. No,you can forget about female nudity. The hackneyed theme of mistaken identities is played out again with little to make it memorable, butthere is enough gunplay to keep you distracted. The best thing in the Krakower and Lawrence screenplay is that they keep the hero on the run, outnumbered, and constantly improvising. As for their fidelity to Don Winslow's novel, that is another question, since I haven't read it.The plot relies on the timeworn theme of deceit. D.E.A. Agent Tad Gruzsa (Lawrence Fishburne of "The Matrix" trilogy) offers former Marine and three-time loser Tim Kearney a quick and easy way to get out of prison. Kearney is eager to take Gruzsa's deal because he has just killed a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, Maddog (Chuck Liddell of "How High") with an automobile license plate when the pugnacious thug pulls a knife on him. Indeed, Kearney slashes Maddog's throat just as surely as if he had wielded a knife. Now, the entire Aryan Brotherhood both in and out of stir demands payback. Meanwhile, a ruthless, Mexican drug-lord, Don Huertero (Joaquim de Almeida of "Desperado"), has taken Gruzsa's partner hostage. Gruzsa must produce a legendary, surfer dude with a reputation as an infamous pot smuggler to get his partner back to safety. Of course, there is more here than meets the eye, but Herzfeld plays his aces close to his vest and doesn't reveal the surprises until the final quarter-hour. Anyway, Gruzsa and his new partner take Kearney to a rendezvous on the border where the exchange is scheduled to take place. During the exchange, Gruzsa shows his true colors and breaks out an assault rifle. He tries to kill Kearney, but he misses our hero narrowly when Kearney trips over the railroad between the bad guys and the good/bad guys. Gruzsa kills his next partner and snuffs some of the opposition before he clears out. Later, he checks in at a tattoo parlor run by Boom Boom (M.C. Gainey of "Con Air") and reveals that Kearney is out and across the border. Boom Boom mobilizes the Brotherhood, and they set off in pursuit on their bikes.In Mexico, Kearney is recaptured by Don Huertero's henchman and taken to his palatial estate. Kearney meets Bobby Z's girlfriend Elizabeth (the strikingly gorgeous Olivia Wilde of "Turistas") and she has sex with Kearney and knows that he isn't Bobby Z. Meanwhile, Kearney learns that Bobby Z has a child, eleven-year old Kit (Juan Villareal of "Harvest of Redemption") and the two bond when Kearney escapes from the hacienda with the bad guys hot on their trail lead by Johnson (Keith Carradine of "The Long Riders") who likes to spit every time that he meets somebody of whom he disapproves. You will be amazed at how this obnoxious character buys the farm."Bobby Z" is complicated enough to be interesting, but it remains altogether a little too smug to be attain the greatness of something like "True Romance." Happily, Walker doesn't play a dual role. Meantime, Walker delivers a strong, charismatic performance as the eponymous character. He plays it free, loose, and easy. Yes, there is a happy ending that seems a little too unbelievable, but then it's only a movie. Comparably, "Bobby Z" isn't as much fun as "Into the Blue" or "Running Scared."

djhuckel I must say upfront I found 'The Death & Life of Bobby Z' to be quite sad and disappointing. I have read a great book by the author from where it came (half read another) and I really felt let down with this effort on screen. All I can think of is that the director John Herzfeld (15 Minutes, 2 Days in the Valley) didn't get to do what he wanted to do. I am sure he loved the book, which rights for were purchased for a considerable sum.The story is that DEA agent Tad Gruzsa, played by Laurence Fishburne, provides former Marine Tim Kearney, played by Walker, with a way out of his prison sentence. By impersonating the legendary criminal Bobby Z... I felt it was a little too convoluted, slow in places (read 'quite boring'), stupid too in others, and don't think Paul Walker, or (surprisingly) Fishburne clinched their characters in what should have been an action, reasonably fast paced thriller.Please do not watch this movie. It was very woeful... It was sad to see the great Neo, the terrific Laurence Fishburne incur this. Paul Walker? Forget it...I was looking forward to seeing this film on the power of Laurence Fishburne primarily, Paul Walker, and secondly the author of the source (book) material, Don Winslow. I'm sure this book was great, like the one I have read 'The Winter of Frankie Machine' which is being turned into a movie with Robert De Niro starring, 'The Winter of Frankie Machine' by Scorcese...But 'The Death & Life of Bobby Z' is one of the most woeful films, sloppy piece of celluloid dross, I have had the misfortune to see in a very long… See it at your own peril.