Jeri Jacquin, Movie Maven
Coming to theatres from director Daniel Espinosa and Cinedigm comes the next installment when there is EASY MONEY: Hard to Kill.
This film continues the story of JW (Joel Kinnaman), who is now in prison for drug running. Also in prison is Mrado (Dragomir Mrsic), the Serbian mafia enforcer who went head to head with JW at one time but now in a wheelchair doing his time.
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Once a working his way as a business major through school, it was the coke running that put JW where he is now. While in prison, he works on a project that will make his life legitimate when it comes time to be released.
On a day pass, JW goes to meet his business partner Nippe (Joel Spira) to sell his idea of trading software to a company. What he discovers is that Nippe has pulled the rug out from under him. JW refuses to return to prison and when Mrado finds out he demands to get out too!
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Mahmoud (Fares Fares) owes gangster Radovan money. In order to pay the debt, Mahmoud must do the one thing he doesn’t want to – kill a friend! Rolando (Luis Cifuentes) has run the gambit of luck staying alive dodging bullets from Radovan and now Mahmoud!
All of these men will intersect in each other’s lives in a dangerous game. As much as JW wanted to go straight is as much as he wants now to set things right!
FINAL WORD: Kinnaman as JW has once again brought this character into an action packed storyline. I would rather watch his performances in THE KILLING and EASY MONEY than ROBOCOP. He has made the character of JW absolutely his own. In this role actions speak louder than words. It is clear JW’s struggle to be what he once thought he could be seems set on a path he can’t break away from.
Mrsic as Mrado is back but a much softer individual. Surprisingly, for an enforcer from the first EASY MONEY film, he was already a softy. That doesn’t mean he won’t take out anyone in his way, he just has moments thinking of his daughter and the hopes of a father.
Cifuentes as Rolando is just absolutely crazy. The chances he takes are, to me, just ridiculously self-centered and, of course self-serving. Fares as Mahmoud is another character that is just absolutely in a place of ridiculous choices. It’s Cukic as Radovan that is that quiet kind of scary bad guy. He does it well and that certainly gives the storyline some good moments.
Other cast include: Madeleine Mratin as Nadja, Lisa Henni as Sophie, Ricardo Moreno as Victor, Annika Rybreg Whittembury as Paola, Lea Stojanov as Lovisa, and Prvoslav Dzakovic as Ratko.
TUBS OF POPCORN: I give EASY MONEY: Hard to kill three and a half tubs of popcorn out of five. Yes, I absolutely suggest seeing the first film because Kinnaman sets the tone for the character of JW. Instead of “re-inventing” a role (yea, I’m talking ROBOCOP), he has taken the character of JW and molded it to fit.
Having first seen Kinnaman in the AMC series THE KILLING, I knew then that there was something unique about this actor. With EASY MONEY he has proven himself in my eyes anyway. In this film, having Mrsic as a sidekick is a bonus that I really enjoyed.
EASY MONEY: Hard to Kill was the Official Selection at the 2012 BFI London Film Festival and the Abu Dhabi Middle East International Film Festival. Coming in at 100 minutes, don’t miss a single one of them to follow the complex storyline, action and intrigue!
In the end – they just won’t let him go straight!
