Her name was Domino Harvey. She was a bounty Hunter. The movie Domino is loosely based upon her character. Born in England, to actor Laurence Harvey and Model Paulene Stone, Domino was a Tom Boy from birth. She was kicked out of several public schools before taking up a modeling career. From there she some how wandered to America, where she enjoyed earning her own way, and not being depended on her family fortune. Eventually she found her way into a bounty hunter career where she found her ultimate adrenaline rush.
Quit the character. She sold her movie rights and a script was written. It's important to note that this movie is not a biography of Domino's life. It's a move based on her character. We never get to know exactly how much of the movie is based on fact. After watching it, it seems like a large portion is BS. Which is really too bad, I'm sure the actual Domino would have made a much better movie then one fabricated around her persona.
So how does Keira Knightley stack up to such a character? Well, she's hot. Like makes young males wet the bed kinda hot. Trying to see her as Domino? That was a bit of a stretch for me. It was cool watching her take some helpless guy out with a set of nun-chucks, there was just something missing. Although her nude scene was one of the best parts of the movie, for that she was a perfect choice!
Mickey Rourke, Lucy Liu, and Christopher Walken all do well in their roles. We've seen them play their character before, just with different names. So there wasn't anything to complain about as far as the major stars go. Macy Grey, Brian Austin Green, and Ian Ziering on the other hand, ICK! Macy Grey can't act. Brian Austin Green and Ian Ziering had only one purpose in the movie, to make fun of their 90210 characters. When they where classified as "celebrity hostages" I couldn't help myself from chuckling. All those three did was help drag the movie down.
The story line it's self was way over the top. The real domino probably had enough stories to make several Hollywood movies, opting to do the one overly exaggerated movie might have worked if done right. Unfortunately for the audience, it's not. The only thing that kept my attention was watching Keira dance around the screen and the clock on my cell phone. The movie back tracks and jumps around and lacks substance. Keira Knightley was really hot though...
The movie was full of special effects and odd camera angles, almost as an attempt to hide the lack of a real movie. What do you expect in an action movie? Well, plenty of Hollywood movies combine story, action, adventure, and suspense to form timeless works of art; this was not that kind of movie.
In the end I left the theater torn. I mean, I wanted to like it and I tried to enjoy it. When the best part of the film is the nude scene, how does one really score such a film? Having a hot girl prance around screen only gets a movie so far. Domino lacks where it counts, and it's not due to lack of talent. This is just another Hollywood undertaking gone horribly wrong.
The saving grace to all of this is Domino Harvey died before the movie's final release of a drug over dose. We all know Tony Scott and his staff meant well. For that he deserves a mulligan. This was not the movie that should have been made about such a unique human being.
If you want to see Keira Knightley nude and dance around on screen for a while this how is the perfect movie for you. Other wise just wait for it come on a movie channel. With all the other quality films out there, why anyone would spend their money on this film is confusing. The only reason to see the film is to satisfy your curiosity or to feed your Keira Knightley fetish. One of those reasons can be fixed with a quick Google search.
"Domino" opens October 4, 2005 and is rated R. Action. Directed by Tony Scott. Written by Richard Kelly, Steve Barancik. Starring Christopher Walken, Edgar Ramirez, Jacqueline Bisset, Keira Knightley, Lucy Liu, Mena Suvari, Mickey Rourke.
