We Own the Night

We Own the Night is smaller and less original, but more open and emotionally relatable than the similar American Gangster. Excellent actors, hard-on-inducing Eva Mendes, and a breath-taking car chase that will make the blood freeze in your veins. Very good job, folks! (19/02/2008)

Genre fans are extremely conservative creatures, so for a good experience, they need the same ingredients mixed in a similar ratio and spiced up with a drop of innovation in the form of a modified label on the packaging. Only the faces of the main characters change, the essence remains the same. We Own the Night draws inspiration from the trend of crime films focusing on the drug trade and the influence of the Russian-speaking mafia in the USA. Otherwise, it is a run-of-the-mill film of its genre with a predictable plot, stereotypical characters, and worn-out schemes. Of course, the family motif is not missing, as the main character wavers between loyalty to his family working in the police force and his friends from his personal life. We also get Eva Mendes portraying a sensual beauty. Genre fans can add any number of stars to the review, but a film where I can predict every move of the screenwriter and director in advance tends not to satisfy me. Overall impression: 40%. It's simply not Eastern Promises... (01/03/2009)

Movie about how even if you are a loser, you can eventually become an honorable citizen, even to the extent that you will be on the side of good, specifically the police. Joaquim Phoenix shows what he's made of, unfortunately the script of this film is not groundbreaking and only gives us a glimpse into the issue, which was better portrayed in the film "American Gangster" and even better in various other mafia movies that the film industry is full of. It tries to be "new" in the sense that it shows us a slightly different story of a person, not a downfall but rather growth, which ultimately leads to the viewer feeling the weight of the pathetic effort to create an overly positive hero. Mark Wahlberg had enough room not to offend, which is typical for movies with him. "The Fighter" relied more on Christian Bale's performance, although it is true that Wahlberg also had enough space here. Sometimes he can be quite unbearable, as in "Ted". The film "We Own the Night" doses him just right. It tries to be a drama, which works in some places, but to be a truly great drama, it is too unoriginal. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/05/noc-patri-nam-voda-pro-slony-posledni.html (18/02/2013)

Not a particularly original story, but with its structure (it could easily have been de facto wrapped up in an hour over, but it isn't, and that's a good thing!) and the well written and of course well acted character of Joaquin Phoenix, it towers quite high above the genre average. No unnecessary attempt at shocking twists, very well shot action (the car chase tops the list), and a divinely perfect Eva Mendes. Brilliantly written and directed. (27/09/2012)

The uncompromising and refreshingly straightforward path of personal transformation (the only point of contact with Departed, the often mentioned similarity simply eludes me), which James Gray brings to an emotionally intense conclusion and demonstrates that gangsters are not, and will not be dead for a long time. The perfect atmosphere makes you feel on your own skin what it's like to have one foot on the right side of the law and at the same time scrape the bottom of a pit full of mud. (25/04/2008)