Domino (2005) User Reviews (399)

A little editing would've been nice.

[TheMovieMark · 5/10 · 22 November 2005]

My reaction to Domino is about as mixed as the mixed race flowchart that Mo'Nique presents on The Jerry Springer Show during the movie (I know, that doesn't make much sense unless you've seen the movie). I dare you to not laugh once she starts introducing terms such as Blacktino, Chinegro, and Japanic. I suppose if you suck at the teat of political correctness then you might not get the joke, but otherwise it's one of the funnier scenes in the movie (the running 90210 joke being the funniest). At this point you're probably wondering what in the world Mo'Nique, Jerry Springer, mixed flow charts, and 90210 have to do with a movie about bounty hunters. It's a legit question. All I can say is welcome to the unconventionalism that is Domino.

I didn't mind the fact that this isn't very conventional, but at times it does feel a little convoluted. By the end of the movie I was pretty clear regarding what was going on, unlike the 'tard in front of me who couldn't decipher the concept of flashbacks, but the script does feel unnecessarily complex. Yeah, the movie kept my interest and is fairly entertaining, but it was just begging for tighter editing. Trimming about 20 minutes would've made the story stronger and the narrative more fluent. My guess is that Scott was experimenting and just couldn't bear to get rid of anything (Tom Waits' cameo especially felt unnecessary).

Tony Scott's made a movie that appears to be something he and his friends could most enjoy while under the influence of substances of a dubious nature. I can deal with the frantic pacing, the quick camera cuts, and the strange coloring, but is it really necessary to show characters saying the same line multiple times from different angles? Sometimes it's all just a little too weird for the sake of being weird.

One of my biggest complaints is that we mainly know that Domino is a bounty hunter because she tells us about 24 times in her narration, which starts to grate on the nerves after a while. I would've preferred to see a little more focus on, you know, her actual bounty hunting. SHOW us why she was a really good bounty hunter; don't just tell us over and over. I was expecting some really cool scenes with Mickey Rourke and Keira hunting down their bounty, showcasing the technical side of the hunt, and wrapping it all up with cool, tough-guy (and girl) bounty hunter stuff. Maybe a little sniping here, a vicious beat down there. Sadly, it never came.

Do I remind everybody that I'm a reviewer by pointing out in every single review that, "I'm Johnny Betts. I'm a movie reviewer"? No, I do my job and show you what it is that makes me a movie reviewer!

"By writing crappy reviews, Johnny?"

Uh, well, I guess we all get mixed reactions sometimes.

An enjoyable mess

[rbverhoef · 6/10 · 13 December 2005]

I liked 'Domino' even though the movie felt like a total mess. Describing the plot would be as much help to you as saying there was a beginning and an end, so I might as well just do that. I could tell you that Domino Harvey (Keire Knightley), once a model, has turned into a bounty hunter under the leadership of Ed Mosbey (Mickey Rourke). Also part of their team is Choco (Edgar Ramirez), who looks like a Latino version of Val Kilmer. The movie also involves mafia, stolen money, a man with an arm detached from his body, Ian Ziering and Brian Austin Green from 'Beverly Hills 90210' as themselves, sisters named Lashandra and Lashindra, and a Jerry Springer-sequence that could have been a comedy short on its own.

I liked all of it for multiple reasons, its energy being one of them. The movie feels like one long music video, even more than films like 'Trainspotting', 'Go' and 'The Rules of Attraction' (funny how they all deal with drugs in one way or another), but it never becomes exhausting. It is one of those films where style over substance succeeds, maybe not in great way, but simply in a way. I also liked it for the actors. Keira Knightley is convincing as a tough girl, even more admirable after just seeing her as a naughty but delicate girl in 'Pride & Prejudice'. Mickey Rourke is back with extraordinary performance in films such as 'Spun', 'Once Upon a Time in Mexico', 'Sin City', and now 'Domino'. Not only them, but also Ramirez, Delroy Lindo, Tom Waits and especially Christopher Walken (as the producer of a reality show the team is doing) give the movie something extra to enjoy. It is exactly what this movie is, enjoyable.

You'll love it or hate it – it's a stylistic thing

[Flagrant-Baronessa · 7/10 · 28 June 2006]

My name is Domino Harvery. {EDIT *dizzying* CHOP} My--my--my name is Domino Harvey. {CUT, CHOP} My name is Domino Harvey. {EDIT. CUT. Playback}

Never have I seen a director take so much flack for his style before. By now it is evident that most people do not appreciate Tony Scott's choppy, flashy, dizzying editing technique. If I have to choose between loving it and hating it, I'd say I love it. It was borderline distracting at times, but the end result was pretty good and it's nice to see a director with a creative edge to his style and some originality (even if it borrows heavily from MTV videos).

This stylistic edge manifests itself as Keira Knightley plays the role of cocky badass bounty hunter Domino Harvey and even her dialogue seems strangely choppy. Otherwise she plays her poorly because I pretty much hated her character and did not sympathize one bit with her, no matter how much she suffered. We follow Domino through her life as she joins up with fellow bounty hunters Mickey Rourke, Rizwan Abbasi and Edgar Ramirez. The crew become tangled up in the FBI and suddenly has a reality show contract under Christopher Walken's TV production company (what is Christopher Walken doing in every film, by the way?). I guess that is a clever film technique, because now Tony Scott is free to use as much flashy MTV/Reality Show editing footage as he likes. It becomes a pastiche of MTV culture at this point.

It followes then that the story is told at an amazingly rapid-fire pace, with lots of raunchy strong language and gun violence. There are some funny jokes; it's all very modern and surreal at the same time. It's a mess, but it's a rather enjoyable mess. It is ultimately flawed in so many ways (the actors try too hard to make their characters "cool", for one) but it works. I give it a weak 7/10 which may seem generous when compared to the general consensus of movie-goers who graded this film — but I feel it had some good ideas and executed them well.

7 out of 10

Wild narrative meets Wicked stylization

[jaywolfenstien · 21 April 2006]

Domino opens up with the title character being interrogated, and through the voice-over narration she informs us, "This is the part where I tell them to go to hell – that I'm not talking until my lawyer arrives." And two seconds later she tells the interrogating officer, "I'll tell you everything." This sets the tone and rhythm for the rest of the movie, and lets us know the narrative isn't afraid to contradict itself. Soon we jump to the setup of the film's ending, then we jump back to the beginning of Domino's story, and then we jump to an important plot point that won't come into play until twenty minutes later. Literalists and traditionalists, please stop watching the film immediately. So in the spirit of the film, I'll come back to this point in a little bit and probably say something completely different. If you're with me, you'll understand. If not, get lost.

Regarding the style: I never thought I'd see the day when I'd like a movie with a music video meets reality TV vibe. I've hated – no, scratch that – I've loathed films that would merely flirt with the idea. I've stopped caring entirely about plot/characters and any redeeming values because the style has driven me up a wall in those other films. Here, though, Tony Scott doesn't think twice about embracing it, and at first it didn't sit well with me as I remembered all the failures that came before Domino. But then something happened . . .

Mel Brooks, in describing his overboard ideas of comedy, once said, "What's the point of going all the way to the bell without ringing it? Let's ring the damn bell." Maybe my problem with this MTV/Reality-series style of film-making has been the fact that every other filmmaker was content to go part way – to just flirt with the idea – but here at last Tony Scott rings the bell.

And holy crap! When I started to listen it actually sounds good! Real freakin' good.

Perhaps another reason why it works in this film is because Tony Scott understands the potency behind each of a film's individual elements. And he's not content to let the music, editing, on screen performance, Kiera Knightley's voice-over, and on-screen text tell their small part of the story and work together as a whole; Domino uses each of its given elements to simultaneously tell their own version of the tale from beginning to end in its entirety. It's a full-on frontal assault of the senses and gives the viewer the feeling five people are telling their own interpretation of the exact same story at the exact same time – talking over one another, contradicting one another, interrupting each other, going back and correcting themselves.

You've heard of Howard Hawk's overlapping dialogue? Tony Scott gives you overlapping cinematic narrative elements. The genius and the magic is that Tony Scott masterfully maintains comprehensible order through all this narrative chaos, and somehow Tony Scott makes it all work.

Also, the film's stylization has another point behind – it serves as a reflection (dare I say an alternate, yet effective, means of character development?) for Domino Harvey, her attitude, and the world she lives in. This movie is not content simply telling us about the world, it's a part of that world too, and for two hours it wants to bring us there. Or to draw an analogy – you can listen to a book being read in a flat monotone or you can listen to it being read with different voices for each character, and the narrator gets up and acts out the story too. Domino goes that extra distance.

The plot? I'd be wasting my time if I tried. Domino Harvey is a former model turned bounty hunter. And the movie, itself, is an action-adventure thriller. You don't need to know anything more. The point of Domino isn't on the contents of the plot, the point of Domino resides in the style in which that plot is told (and it is told very effectively). Or in other words, a summarization is nearly pointless. If you need to "get" the plot, you're not going to "get" Domino at all.

Domino is a style, an attitude, a perspective. It's a film willing to tell its audience to either come along for the ride or get lost. Based on a true story? Kiera's voice over says it, "If you want to know what *really* happened . . . get lost!" (note: stated with significantly harsher language that IMDb doesn't want to accept in a review, but you get the idea.)

Loves To Play With Fire - They Call Her...DOMINO!

[TheAnimalMother · 7/10 · 27 August 2010]

Let me start by saying that this is probably the worst film I have ever rated a 7 out of 10. Lol! There are some things in this film that I really hate. However somehow, I still manage to enjoy the film.

There are a few parts in this film that are extremely overdone. There are a few moments where I literally almost lost my cookies. Most notably the lap dance scene. Let's face it, no gang-banger in gangland Los Angeles is going to rat out anyone in front of a bunch of fellow gangsters for a lap dance. I don't give a crap if it was the hottest chick on the planet, and the biggest idiot in the world he was ratting out. It's among the stupidest and most fake scenes that has ever been put into a Hollywood film. In gangland Los Angeles, rats have no place but the grave. That's just the way it is.

Aside from a few overdone scenes, I do find this film to be fairly interesting, and above all, entertaining. I remember when I first heard about this film. I really thought there was no way that Knightley could pull off this part and make it somewhat believable. However I was wrong, she puts forward a very strong and quite believable performance, even despite the overdone scenes. She truly deserves some recognition here. Rourke and Walken also put in good performances as some fairly interesting characters. My favourite scene in the whole film however takes place in the desert, when the preacher played by Tom Waits arrives. The Tom Waits scene in this film is almost what I would call classic. Waits is a very impressive musician/actor. One who has turned in some outstanding screen performances over the years in bit parts, and this one is certainly no exception.

Yes, I gave this film a 7, but it is just barely a 7 for me.

7/10

all in all--well done.

[bbv24154 · 7/10 · 19 February 2006]

I think when examining the film, and it's purpose, one would see that it is in fact doing it's job. Domino is a film about a woman who "is a bounty hunter." The above critic wrote how annoying it was, as if it became trite by the end of the film. The point of adding that line repeated was to reinforce Domino's purpose. For instance, in the beginning of the film, we learn of Domino's mixed up past which led to the only constant in her life, the only thing she honestly cared about: bounty hunting. Thus, repeating the line helps reinforce her dedication and pride in her duty.

As for the rest of the movie, I felt the editing was appropriate to the film's tone. The quick cuts, and discoloration served a purpose as well. Domino is thrown into bounty hunting; a result of an impulsive decision. The quick cuts and acid-trip like coloring supports the thrills of the life she was seeking in her job. The editing also contributes to the suspense and drama of the film. For example, by cutting between past the present, dramatic irony is created which also helps create a suspense and a more thrilling atmosphere.

All I all, I personally didn't care for the movie much. Although, cinematically, I believe it was very well done--appropriately well done.

Still a turd no matter how hard you polish it

[fertilecelluloid · 2/10 · 1 December 2005]

Tony Scott destroys anything that may have been interesting in Richard Kelly's clichéd, patchy, overwrought screenplay. Domino Harvey (Kiera Knightley) was a model who dropped out and became a bounty hunter. This is her story... "sort of".

The problem with this rubbish is that there isn't much of a story at all and Scott's extreme graphic stylization of every shot acts as a distancing mechanism that makes us indifferent to everything in Harvey's chaotic life.

You just don't care about Harvey. Knightley plays her as an obnoxious, cynical brat who has done nothing to warrant our respect. She punches people she doesn't like and sheds her clothes and inhibitions when the situation calls for it, but she isn't the least bit real and Knightly isn't the least bit convincing, either.

The film is boring. It's loud, too, and shackled with one of the most annoying source music scores I've heard in a long time. The final twenty minutes are a poor re-run of Scott's "True Romance" climax with Domino's gang going to meet two sets of feuding bad guys who are -- surprise! surprise! -- destined to shoot it out with each other at the top of a Las Vegas casino.

Unfortunately, this potentially exciting conflagration is totally botched by Scott and becomes a confusing, pretentious, pointless exercise in celluloid masturbation. This is not an artistically brave or experimental piece; it is a failure on every level because it gives us no entry point to the lives and dilemmas of its characters.

Mickey Roarke looks good as a grizzled bounty hunter, but he disappears into the background as the "narrative" progresses. Chris Walken turns in another embarrassing cameo and Dabney Coleman, always solid, is underutilized.

Don't be fooled by this film's multi-layered, gimmick-ridden surface. It is still a turd no matter how hard you polish it.

Dynamite

[Uriah43 · 7/10 · 12 January 2013]

This was a pretty good action movie which I believe could have been better if the director (Tony Scott) hadn't kept cutting away to one scene after another. In my opinion this technique didn't help to enhance the film at all. If anything it gave it a choppy feel. Other than that though I thought the acting was really good. I enjoyed seeing Jacqueline Bisset (as "Sophie Wynn") who still looks like dynamite. Mickey Rourke ("Ed Moseby"), Edgar Ramirez ("Choco") and Delroy Lindo ("Claremont Williams") also performed quite well. Additionally, Keira Knightley (as "Domino Harvey") was excellent but it was Christopher Walken who was nothing less than sensational as the television producer named "Mark Heiss". He definitely gave this film an extra edge. At any rate, if you're wanting a good movie with plenty of action and humor then this is one you should definitely want to check out. I honestly think you'll like it.

I wasted my time on this one.

[dedla · 1/10 · 16 March 2006]

Repetitive music, annoying narration, terrible cinematography effects. Half of the plot seemed centered around shock value and the other half seemed to be focused on appeasing the type of crowd that would nag at people to start a fight.

One of the best scenes was in the "deleted scenes" section, the one where she's in the principle's office with her mom. I don't understand why they'd cut that. The movie seemed desperate to make a point about anything it could and Domino talking about sororities would have been a highlight of the movie.

Ridiculous camera work is reminiscent of MTV, and completely not needed or helpful to a movie. Speeding the film up just to jump past a lot of things and rotating the camera around something repeatedly got old the first time it was used. It's like the directors are wanting to use up all this extra footage they didn't want to throw away.

Another movie with Jerry Springer in it? That should've told me not to watch it from the preview.

A popular movie for the "in" crowd.

Violent, Exciting And Kiera In The Most Sexy Character Of All Her Pictures

[teniente91 · 7/10 · 26 July 2006]

''Domino'' it's a good movie, normally I don't like very much the action cinema but this picture are so F*CKING AWESOME. This action movie it's like me for got good ac tings Micky Rurke it's show a brilliant return to the cinema (also for ''Sin City'') whit a character so F*CKING BRILLIANT, and Keira whit that acting I kiss her foots and by the way I f*ck whit her, and the violence are so synchronized brilliant got a good humor spawned whit that violence it's shows an expectingly vision of Tony Scott, and Keira... oh god please give more ideas to think in f*ck whit that sexiest woman, that brilliant aggressive and sexiest woman, oh god

Now I'm gone to explain why don't work good First that scenes of when the mother it's seen the TV don't are so goods Second that of shows the slow camera it's don't work Third of the scenes when keira it's playing to the luck come on

That's the things good and bad of this action movie

Awful

[SteveLKay · 1/10 · 5 January 2006]

From the first moment, this "thing" is just an awful sequence of extremely short cuts of blurry camera work. While the overall plot has every potential for a thriller, the story is so badly told that I'm unable to buy it. From the middle of the film, the actions of characters don't make sense to me. Stop reading now to avoid SPOILERS.

For instance, Ed's idea to have Edna make coffee for them after having shot off her son's arm is way below his alleged experience; it's just an extremely stupid idea. Domino not questioning the fragmentary orders she receives from Claremont Williams over a breaking-up phone connection just eludes me; shouldn't she be long suspicious that Williams is turning them in? Those FBI agents seem out of their minds showing up with just one single helicopter to something they have every reason to consider a capital mafia shoot-out. Besides, what they do by withholding and leaking information towards Cigliutti is pretty much incitement to murder; it seems to me like farewell to justice if that's they way the FBI does investigations. In reality, they'd have a case messed up beyond repair if they acted like this. We get to see a car accident which normally would have at least seriously injured if not killed most of the passengers but miraculously leaves all of them with just a few bruises. Quite the contrary, the accident is immediately followed by Domino making love to Choco, which is from Domino's viewpoint in no way founded by previous events but just by being drugged to the eyeballs.

The whole sequence of scenes starting from the phone call of Claremont Williams appears to me just as want-to-be dramatic razzle-dazzle. This combined with the awful, uneasy camera work just makes a piece I hesitate to call a movie. I'm sorry for the wasted effort of the main actors, whose talent is out of question.

Tony Scott's Postmodern Masterpiece

[dlahiff · 10/10 · 16 October 2005]

" Domino " has been widely condemned on this site for its frenetic editing style and " sickening " photography. It's detractors cite its superficiality and criticize its deployment of " style over substance" I couldn't disagree more. I believe that " Domino " represents the absolute height of Tony Scott's film-making career.

After having created the dominant Hollywood action movie style throughout the late eighties and early nineties Tony Scott has moved progressively closer to a more subjective style of cinema. As early as "Crimson Tide" Scott used his stylistic talent to portray the inner worlds of his characters- the claustrophobia and drama inherent in the conflict on board a nuclear submarine was embodied in the excellent use of long lenses combined with dutched-angle framing. This was then carried through to " Enemy Of The State" and "Spy Game" which visually represented the worlds of surveillance and espionage respectively.

" Man On Fire" was an extreme departure , a move into an expressionist more painterly aesthetic. Here Scott used an antiquated hand cranked camera and flash frames to express his character's explosive rage . Although not entirely successful it introduced the techniques which were to find their full expression in " Domino"

Couched in the framing device of an FBI interrogation " Domino" presents the life of the infamous bounty hunter via her narrated disjointed fragments of memory. She grasps at memories as we all do- in fragments, flashes and brief snatches. As Domino relays her story verbally Scott relays it visually illustrating not only the events which she describes but also the point of view which guides them. She does have " traces of mescaline" in her system but her individual vision is anyway Unusual -that of an woman who eschewed the life of luxury for bounty hunting.

It is when Domino begins to relate the events which lead to her captivity that Scott really lets rip. Together with Cinematographer Dan Mindel and composer Harry-Gregson Williams Scott orchestrates a postmodern canvas of contemporary Americana. Gradually we begin to realize that unusual though she may be Domino is no more disjointed than the "90210" culture she has rejected. As she wades through this cultural melange Scott makes his viewer more aware of the innocence which it destroys through the underprivileged children which the narrative introduces. Ultimately Scott portrays their salvation as the only escape we have from this surreal trip.

To criticize this movie for being overly stylized is akin to criticizing a Picasso or a Pollock for not representing that which is recognizably human. Like any great painting the meaning in " Domino" is in the surface and the surface is everything.

I am not in any way associated with Scott Free but have always been and will continue to be a huge admirer of Tony Scott's work

Not a good role for this Domino

[rparham · 6/10 · 26 March 2006]

Tony Scott's adaptation of late bounty hunter Domino Harvey's life, Domino, is a film as LSD experiment. The camera never stops moving, the plot never starts making much sense, and the characters have rarely more than a whisper of personality or depth. That doesn't mean that Domino is without it's moments, but what doesn't work more than outranks what does.

Domino is one of the many films to tell it's tale in a convoluted flashback form. It begins, essentially, at the end, and then backtracks to give us some idea who Domino Harvey (Keira Knightley) is. The daughter of film actor Laurence Harvey (most famous for his role in The Manchurian Candidate), she is abandoned to prep school by her mother (Jacqueline Bisset) after her father's death. She is then prodded to join a sorority in college, where she promptly punches out one of her fellow sorority sisters, leading to expulsion. Despising the Hollywood lifestyle, she sees an ad for a bounty hunter seminar and decides to show up, where she meets bail bondsman Claremont Williams (Delroy Lindo) and bounty hunters Ed Moseby (Mickey Rourke) and Choco (Edgar Ramirez). She hooks up with them and proves to be useful, becoming an official member of the team.

When one of Claremont's mistresses' (Monique) granddaughter is diagnosed with a serious illness, Claremont hatches a complicated scheme to obtain the money necessary, involving a 10 million dollar armored car robbery, mob connections and mistaken identity. Ed, Choco and Domino are dispatched to reclaim the money, accompanied by a reality TV crew trying to create a show based on their lives, run by producer Mark Heiss (Christopher Walken), but things quickly turn messy for all of them.

Domino is ostensibly supposed to be about the life of it's title character, Domino Harvey, but we are rarely allowed to get very deep into this character. Sure, some details are revealed, but that doesn't equal insight. Domino, in this film, is very much a sketchy rendering, the details all missing. Her relationship with her mother is addressed, but never explored. How she relates to her fellow bounty hunters is glimpsed briefly also, and the film works best in those moments, but this group doesn't really become characters we can be invested in. When the going gets rough, there isn't enough development of these people for us to put much concern into them.

On the plot front, Domino is a difficult film to figure out. The screenplay from Richard Kelley makes it difficult to follow the various twists and turns. You are never really sure what is going on at times, making it near impossible to become invested in the film's story. The combination of confusing plotting and nascent character development ends up leaving you with little to peak your interest.

You can't really talk about Domino without addressing director Tony Scott's over-exaggerated filming style. The film never stops doing something for more than a matter of seconds. Whether it is hand-held filming, postproduction massaging to effect color, add jitter, or editing that can reduce whole segments to almost subliminal images, Domino always has something going on. This could be identified as a style, but it's more like Tony Scott showing off. Domino has the feeling of a film school student playing with his first major film and throwing everything into mix to show how "arty" he is. It doesn't ruin the film, but it doesn't really add anything much to it either, and at times it is a distraction.

Acting-wise, Domino has a solid cast. Knightley is good in the role of bad girl, Rourke gives one of his best straight performances in years and Ramirez gets the job done. Walken is amusing to watch as always, and Ian Ziering and Brian Austin-Green of Beverly Hills 90210 fame show up to poke some fun at their images, playing themselves.

In the end, Domino adds up to not much. Lacking an involving plot, interesting characters and a bit too much visual "sophistication," Domino is ends up with a role of snake eyes.

A veritable mess

[darbo_pirmunas · 1/10 · 25 August 2006]

My flatmate rented out this film the other night, so we watched it together.

The first impression is actually a positive one, because the whole movie is shot in this colorful, grainy, post-MTV texture. Fast sequences, cool angles, sweeping camera moves - for the moment there you feel like you about to watch another "Snatch", for the moment....

When the plot actually starts unfolding, one starts to feel as if one over-dosed amphetamine. things just don't make sense anymore. i would hate to spoil the fun of watching it by giving out certain scenes, but then again, the film is so bad that you are actually better off NOT watching it.

First you think it is a crime story recounted in a conversation between Keira Knightley and Lucy Liu. WRONG. This conversation provides no coherent narrative whatsoever. Rather on the contrary, Domino's lesbian come on on Lucy Liu's character during the second part of the movie just throws the audience into further confusion.

Then i thought that maybe it is a movie about a girl from affluent but dysfunctional background who grew to be a tough bounty hunter. In any case, that is the message conveyed by the opening scenes. But after that the question of Domino's character is entirely lost to the criminal plot. So in short, NO this is NOT a movie about Domino's character.

Then i thought, it's probably a story of one robbery. A pretty bloody robbery. 10 millions went missing, bounty hunters are chasing around suspected robbers, mafia kids are executed, hands are removed, Domino tries to crack why this time they get no bounty certificates, etc. But soon this impression is dispelled by another U-turn of the plot.

This time we are confronted with a sad story of an obese Afro-American woman, who fakes driver's licenses at the local MVD and at the age of 28 happens to be a youngest grandmother. Lateesha stars on Jerry Springer show, tries to publicize some new, wacky racial theory, and at the same time struggles to find money for her sick granddaughter.

What does this have to do with the main plot? URgh, well, nobody knows. Except that director had to explain the audiences where will bounty hunters put their collectors' fee of 300,000.

Then at some point you start to think: "Oh, it is about our society and the way media distorts things". There is reality TV crew driving around with the bounty hunters and doing some violent footage. The bounty hunters are also stuck with a bunch of Hollywood actors, who just whine all the time about having their noses broken and themselves dragged around too many crime scenes. But NO, this is not a movie about media, they just appear sporadically throughout the movie.

Plus there are numerous other sub-plots: the crazy Afghani guy bent on liberating Afghanistan, the love story between Domino and Chocco, the mescaline episode, the FBI surveillance operation...

Can all of the things mentioned above be packed into 2 hrs movie? Judge for yourself, but my conclusion is clear - it is a veritable mess!

A Violent, Whizz Bang Social and Popular Culture Satire With Some Heart

[noralee · 7/10 · 25 October 2005]

"Domino" uses some facts from the bizarre life of Domino Harvey, from English boarding school to Hollywood to model to bounty hunter, as an inspiration for a rollicking, violent social satire. Stretching from England to Hollywood to Las Vegas, it is photographed in exaggeratedly unreal processed colors by Daniel Mindel like "City of God (Cidade de Deus)," edited with a whirlwind structure, speed and popular culture and musical references like Tarantino, and filled with political, social and class juxtapositions and crazed characters like Elmore Leonard.

While it is like a music video on steroids, it is also a very funny send-up of many stereotypes, as commentary on health care, reality TV, racial profiling, immigrants, "Beverly Hills 90210" go whizzing by. And there's even a sweet, sexy love story that's squeezed in.

The truth that Domino was actor Laurence Harvey's daughter lets "The Manchurian Candidate" play in the background as a repeating leit motif about cultural mind control, with Frank Sinatra as a link to the plot turns in Las Vegas with the Mob. The violence is of video game-like exaggeration, as it's clearly over the top and sometimes even re-winds with different results as misapprehensions are cleared up.

Sometimes the social satire just goes on too long from the main plot, which already is so gloriously convoluted it has to be labeled and charted. Mo'Nique's rant on "The Jerry Springer Show" is not that funny and her cohorts later criticizing the ineffectuality of her appearance doesn't make up for it. (And celebrity first-name dropping is spoofed in the closing credits.) But the conceit of the bounty hunters being featured on a "Cops"-imitation reality show (much like the actual "Dog the Bounty Hunter" on A & E) produced by a relatively toned down Christopher Walken and hosted by bickering ex-"90210"er's Ian Ziering and Brian Austin Green sort of playing themselves is laugh out loud funny, especially as their RVs race across the desert. The concept of "celebrity hostages" is hysterical.

Because the film is being marketed as a Tony Scott action film for guys, the studio isn't promoting the romantic thread. But Edgar Ramirez is magnetic as Domino's lovelorn friend. Every time he pulls the rubber band off that pony tail and shakes his curly hair down, watch out! The camera appreciates his casual strip tease in a laundromat that may stoke quite a few straight women's fantasies, and is much sexier than Keira Knightley's lap dance.

As an action heroine, Knightley is much better here than she was in "King Arthur," partly due to the editing and that this character is more tense, pouty poseur than mover and shaker. She's particularly good in the interrogation scenes that frame the story as a series of flashbacks and justify the voice over narration, if not the echo chamber repetition. Lucy Liu is no Kyra Sedgwick from "The Closer," but her pencil sharpening ticks are amusing.

Mickey Rourke is pretty much playing his usual tough guy, but has some sweet mentoring scenes. Jacqueline Bisset is almost unrecognizable under her make-up as the ambitious mother and clearly has fun with the role.

The climax is an amusing fantasy but thrilling blaze of glory that brings together all the elements of a life that we know really ended with far less pizazz. The effort to tie in some reflection about fate and religion and goldfish doesn't quite work, but is visually entertaining as a way to try and get into her head and make her seem like a tough chick with a softie heart of gold. We get a brief glimpse at the real Domino before a memorial tribute to her.

The musical selections are integral to the pace and the humor and are selected for specific lines and rhythms, from hip hop to rock (you'll probably go out humming the chorus "Momma told me not to come!") and the closing Latin croon over the credits. Tom Waits has a cameo as a preacher who might be a drug-induced hallucination and lines from a couple of his songs referencing bounty hunters are included to good effect. Macy Gray sings on the soundtrack and is also funny in a small role, as good as she was in "Lackawanna Blues."

The perfect Tony Scott film

[GardenStateFan · 7/10 · 20 August 2006]

DOMINO

Tony Scott has a very unique style, either you love it or you hate it. Personally I love it - you can freeze his work at any time, print out the image and sell it as art. It is beautifully shot. Domino is no exception.

Keira Knightley plays Domino Harvey - a beautiful, talented and deadly bounty hunter. She is perfect for the role, and shows us how far she can pull away from all her other roles (examples Bend it like Beckham and Pride and Prejudice). She truly proves that she can play one tough bitch, and I love it. The supporting cast works perfectly, Mickey Rourke and Edgar Ramirez have amazing chemistry as the lovably tough-ass bounty hunters and as always Christopher Walken shines.

The character development in the film is enough to really care for Domino in particular, as well as her team later on down the line. There is enough narration and flashbacks to know where she comes from and genuinely care whether she lives or dies. This connection with Domino definitely helps the story in its tense moments.

The movie is extremely fast paced, with not much time to absorb it all in the first sitting. Watch it two or three more times and you will appreciate it more and more. Playing at 123 minutes, it is the perfect length, not too long and not too short. The story needs as much time as it can get however to tell the lengthy true story, however Tony Scott manages to find a way to fit it perfectly in.

The soundtrack is extremely unique, with extremely cartoonish sound effects, but somehow it works. I don't think the soundtrack could have worked with any other film, there are hundreds of different tracks, but all fit the mood amazingly.

Why is this movie receiving so much bad publicity? Wouldn't have a clue, like I said before - it seems you either you love it or you hate it. This film has taken an amazing story, thrown in a whole group of amazing actors and then presented itself beautifully.

Go see this film for yourself, give it a chance - don't believe all the bad publicity. This film will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

I give this film a 9/10 - I am in love with it. The only thing holding it back is the Jerry Springer scene, just doesn't seem right in a movie.

Headache-inducing

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 27 June 2016]

DOMINO is a messy film, one of the most overblown I've seen. It rattles along at a fair old pace, screaming and shooting, and director Tony Scott goes out of his way to make every scene, every frame even, as stylish as possible. It's a mess of choppy editing, over the top dialogue and people screaming as they shoot each other while a pumping soundtrack plays over the proceedings.

The huge cast come in and out of the storyline, about bounty hunters going after some guys who've stolen a massive haul, and it's all rather lightweight and nonsensical. The ensemble cast is good, but these are caricatures rather than real people, and larger than life doesn't really describe the huge egos and outlandish behaviour filling the screen. I've never liked Knightley, but she's probably at her best here, given the chance to do something other than period dramas; Mickey Rourke is gravely and tough, continuing the career rehabilitation begun with SIN CITY; Christopher Walken shines in a supporting role.

But the script is all over the place and the attempts at comedy sit ill with the main thrust of the story – long, unnecessary segments including the Jerry Springer one just drag the film down and scream self-indulgence. By the end, I neither knew nor cared about any of the cardboard characters in this headache-inducing movie, just longing for it to be over.

The return of the great so bad you love 'em characters

[dementedgwen · 7/10 · 18 October 2005]

Went to see this movie, despite the poor reviews, because, c'mon, what girl has not dreamed of being a bounty hunter? The film does have its faults. The plot, while simplistic, has been convoluted by the script and the jumpy camera-work, which works fantastically in the flashback scenes and the action sequences, is used way too much throughout the film. A bit of a breather at any point would have been nice.

Luckily, this film is an action film so the jumpiness is an asset most of the time and the director has an excellent sense of surroundings and makes the scenery a secondary character, especially in a pivotal desert scene towards the end.

The reason to watch this film though is for the characters. It's why I went, after all bounty hunters are fascinating, and 'Domino' does not disappoint. Keira Knightly does a good job as Domino but she is fantastically gorgeous and that's all the movie calls her to do. Its the supporting characters that take the spotlight. This is a true team movie and it is excellently cast. Mickey Rourke and Mo'Nique are true standouts. Rourke gives his most heartfelt bad-ass performance yet (who else thinks that his agent deserves a medal for orchestrating the greatest and most unlikely comeback ever?), even expressing emotion. I do have to say he is looking more natural than ever. And Mo'Nique is not only hysterical but gives a nuanced performance that carefully reveals the depths of her character.

Last, but most importantly, I would like to comment on the newcomer who plays Choco. Seeing him alone is worth seeing this movie. A true sexy ravishing bad boy performance that I have never seen in a movie filmed within the past 20 years. I am unable to comment further without infringing on the delicate sensibilities of polite society so I will leave my review with this...

Go see this movie. It's fun, it's entertaining, it features some truly great characters, and it has Choco.

Way too much craziness

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 7 November 2014]

Domino Harvey (Keira Knightley) is a tough bounty hunter being interrogated by FBI criminal psychologist Taryn Mills (Lucy Liu). Domino is trying to recover $10 million of casino boss Drake Bishop (Dabney Coleman)'s money stolen from an armored truck. She lost her beloved actor father as a child and stuck with her gold-digging mother (Jacqueline Bisset). She got tired of her life and joins bail bondsman Claremont Williams III (Delroy Lindo), her tough boss Ed Moseby (Mickey Rourke), Choco (Edgar Ramirez) and their Afghan driver Alf (Riz Abbasi). Claremont runs the armored truck company. Lateesha Rodriguez (Mo'Nique) is one of his mistresses who is his inside girl in the DMV. Also the group is being filmed by reality TV producer Mark Heiss (Christopher Walken).

The movie starts off as an edgy heist story. I like the crazy visual style from director Tony Scott. Things are working more or less. It's overly complicated but I'm willing to follow. Then they pile on too much. The reality TV bit is the straw that broke the camel's back. Mo'Nique has a funny scene on Jerry Springer's show. Overall, there are just too many crazy things going on. I get tired of the random outlandish turns this movie makes.

Kiera Nightly jumps from Lizie to Domino in one bound

[majorlester2004 · 7/10 · 3 April 2006]

Kiera Nightly moved straight from the P&P set to this action movie... she could hardly have chosen to remake her image more dramatically. A great success in Love Actually and as Lizie in Jane Austen's classic, she is, once again, "having a go". Just as her bikini clad warrier woman in King Arthur was more skin than muscle, it is difficult to imagine this delicate frame standing up to a bounty hunters life... but then this is exactly what Domino Harvey (the real one) did, and I (being one of Nightly's biggest fans) believe she carries if off.

Stuff....

* 90210 (for the non American world) is the post code of Beverly hills in LA, where all the film stars live. * Domino Harvey father's mostfamous film was Manchurian Candidate (which appears in the film). * Domino Harvey died of a drug overdose in her bath before the film came out in June 2005, after having been arrested for drug dealing. She had just completed the negotiation for some of her music to be inlcuded in the film. * Kiera Knightly alludes to Domino Harvey's sexuality in her interview with Lucy Liu.

If you find this film a bit far fetched, then check out Domino Harvey, as the facts are more amazing than the fiction.

Domino, we hardly knew ye...

[Jonny_Numb · 1/10 · 16 June 2008]

Tony Scott has never been a very good director, but every film he's made after "Crimson Tide" seems to bring him one step closer to being the inarguable worst working today (Michael Bay may fall into the same category, but at least his big, dumb, delusional epics entertain on some primally perverse level). And like other overblown Hollywood biopics ("De-Lovely" and "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," for instance) chronicling the lives of pretentious, overrated, or outright shallow ciphers given an aura of "mystique" by a society that thrives on the juicy behind-the-scenes details, "Domino" is a film that begins with little potential, and dashes that infinitesimal amount before the sixty-minute mark. With an already-distended running time of 128 minutes, the film feels twice as long, and spending time with characters this obnoxiously superficial and forgettable (unlike the superior "Rules of Attraction," Scott's attempts to tinge the proceedings with irony via Domino's smug, self-aware-rich-girl voice-over only draws attention to the film's sledgehammer cluelessness) becomes an act only masochists could find pleasurable. The story? Spoiled-upper-crust-babe Domino Harvey (Keira Knightley, in an ersatz-badass performance as shallow as her gorgeous looks) is sick of the shallow lifestyles of the rich and famous in Los Angeles, and accosts gruff bounty hunters Mickey Rourke and Edgar Ramirez to learn a more exciting trade; along the way, there are double-crosses, shootouts, media attention (courtesy of a tongue-in-cheek Christopher Walken, phoning in his trademark sleazebag), and laughable hints at romance. Scott cuts the film together in segments that rarely last more than a few seconds, cranking up the resolution to make the film a neon-drenched nightmare that's frankly unpleasant to watch--if Scott's given an opportunity to shakily frame an image, ghost it, or distort it in some way, he will; but all this tacky stylistic overload overwhelms what little plot, characterization, and suspense the film has (to say nothing for its, ehm, "entertainment" value). Most of the characters come off as either contemptible or stereotypical, oftentimes both (observe the unbearable, several-minute segment where an African-American introduces a new list of racial categorizations on "Jerry Springer"), and I found myself wishing they would all get the "tails" end of our protagonist's coin by the end. "Domino" is utter, unmitigated trash--whatever interest in this individual Scott hoped to inspire in his audience, it is lost in a sea of migraine-inducing neon pretension a few minutes in.

Dirty and Shockingly Exciting

[hinata-soul · 8/10 · 15 October 2005]

If you go to this movie expecting something it isn't, you will be disappointed, as with any movie. This movie contains what Hemmingway described as the "iceberg effect". On the surface, its simply a cache of random movie clips smashed together to make a movie. If this would be written in a book, it would be a short story, because the action in the movie is very fast paced, and unless you actually try to catch it, the reasoning behind the plot (along with some subtle foreshadowing) can very well pass you by. Definitely a movie you will have to see twice in order to fully appreciate. Experimental Cinematography barely describes this movie. The camera-work and post production add much to the overall flavour of the film, making it quite artistic at some points and open to interpretation at others (something to be desired in American movies as of late). Although, at some parts it may get a little raunchy, gruesome and too heavy for some audiences, the movie never becomes completely unrealistic. The only aspect of the movie that I would write off as "needs improvement" is the soundtrack selection. No movie is ever good without a fitting soundtrack, and although the soundtrack is quite fitting, the opening is a little too long, and the other rap songs in the film really could have been replaced with something more appropriate (heavy, grungy rock or psychedelic electronica would have made this film a real trip). The flooding of imagery and dynamic... color palettes adds another "artistic" aspect to it, also combined with the events that happen throughout the film, this is not a movie you can miss any part of and still understand. However, that also makes it much more of a desirable film to watch, and not one you'll quickly get bored of. 8.5/10

lots of wild action and gun play

[MLDinTN · 7/10 · 4 October 2006]

I doubt much of this film is based on a true story. At the beginning it says based on a true story, sort of. I bet the only truth to it was there was an ex-model turned bounty hunter possibly named Domino.

Anyways, it begins with Domino talking to Lucy Liu, who works for the FBI. Domino is being interrogated about what she knows about a theft of 10 million dollars. Through flashbacks, we see Domino as a child, then as a model, and how she became interested in being a bounty hunter. She basically tells 2 other bounty hunters off, Ed and Choco. They let her join the group. She's tough, can use any kind of weapon, and will use her good looks if needed.

They get involved with a scam that Clarmont, a bailsman, has going. Along the way, the group starts a reality TV show, and that's where Ian Zering and Brian Austin Green become involved. They are sort of like hosts and must have been really desperate to appear in this.

I thought the story was entertaining and it had some laughs. The editing didn't bother me. There's also a lot of violence, mainly using guns, and blood. It could have been a little shorter.

FINAL VERDICT: Good enough to watch.

Domino Sux

[johnnybgood6 · 1/10 · 4 March 2006]

If it smells like garbage and if it looks like garbage, it must be garbage. This is by far one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my entire life. Tony Scott's poor directing style puts shame to an already uninteresting and slightly untrue story of Domino Harvey's life as a bounty hunter. The story is completely discontinuous and confusing to watch. Certain aspects of the plot were ridiculous and totally unbelievable. It seems that all of the action scenes were loosely strung together by poor plot points and horrible acting. Keira Knightley does get totally naked in this one though. That is the one and only upside to this film. If you want to see her naked just fast forward the movie until about an hour and a half into it and you'll catch a whole lot of nipple. I strongly suggest that no one see this movie EVER!</3

Simpy Horrible

[imvaughn · 25 July 2011]

This is a horrible movie. A grade A horrible movie. 1st, the use of yellow screens & etc is just horrible. Then the plot was just no existent. We have Monik who is a DMV worker who supplies fake IDs so she can get her granddaughter's life threatening surgery. She is also a robber who has stole 10 million that turns up to be from a casino that is involved with mafia. Then we have Domino who can get out of shoot outs by doing strip teases... yea right... snort snort. She is involved with the bank robberies & ends up setting up the mafia's kids. Then there is a guy who steals the money to give to Afghan kids. It's was illogical and not realistic. For instance, at the end of the movie they blow off a guys arms to get the code. Once they raid his girlfriends house they accept tea from her laced with drugs. Who gets a drink from a person who's boyfriend you just injured? Then they get into an accident because they are high. The van rolls about 10xs and NO ONE is hurt. They have sex immediately after outside of the flipped truck. Then after all the Mafia guys are killed, the casino owners are killed, and Dominos 2 partners are killed, Domino talks to the FBI and gets released. no one is arrested. Nothing.

A horrible movie. and I love movies. But this movie was so horrible I heard even Domino ( the girl the movie was based off of) hated the movie.