Krishna
This is a movie that invoked multiple emotions in me and probably will in you as well.
Partly, it is a comedy and it is refreshing to see Eddy Murphy play the old Eddy Murphy of his glory days (think 48 hours or Beverly Hills Cop). It is marred by only two things: first he swaps in and out of character a bit in the movie and second, Eddy’s voice is indelibly mixed with the Donkey of Shrek in my mind (No fault of Eddy) and that intrudes a bit when I see the movie.
Ben Stiller does expected things of him and is funny in his trademark explosions (like wrecking the car). It is interesting to see Gabourny Sidibe (of Precious fame) in a comic role.
Partly it is also an adventure where an elaborate scheme is hatched, brilliant in parts, to go steal money from a safe thought to be hidden inside a wall from a well guarded building. The thieves, of course, are the good guys helping out the people scammed pitilessly and who lost all their life`s savings trusting a pyramid scam.
Some of the plan and ideas are wonderful, and the cat and mouse game between the scammer Arthur Shaw (played by Alan Alda) and Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) is interesting, right from the virtual chess that they play and the Queen`s Sacrifice gambit that they discuss. The money turns out not to be in the safe and the real place where the money is hidden is ingenious – but also very impractical, like many Hollywood plots of this genre.
The intro is necessary but is long, and so you wonder when something is going to really happen in the movie, until it really happens.
Also, a lot of scenes in the movie seems to suggest that the FBI agent Claire Denham (Tea Leoni) is romantically attracted to Josh but nothing comes of it. Also absurd is her continuing support and admiration for Josh when he damages stuff that FBI is assigned to protect!
If you do not try to puzzle out the plot logically, the second half can really be quite enjoyable. Let us say a 6/10
— Krishna