Critics Consensus: Focus is Sleek and Slick But Too Twisty

Focus

55%

Right out of the gate, Focus has quite a bit going for it: it’s a slick caper flick that boasts glamorous scenery and magnetic performances from Will Smith and up-and-comer Margot Robbie. But while critics say that’s enough to sustain interest for much of the movie’s runtime, an overabundance of twists and turns may leave viewers feeling a little cheated themselves. Smith stars as Nicky Spurgeon, an experienced con man and pickpocket who takes Jess Barrett (Robbie), a talented grifter in her own right, under his wing. After a big score, however, their relationship takes a dark turn, which raises the question: who’s conning whom? The pundits say Smith is his old likeable self, and Robbie delivers a breakout performance, but Focus runs out of steam by the time it makes its big reveal. (Check out this week’s Total Recall, in which we count down Smith’s best-reviewed movies here.)

The Lazarus Effect

13%

Like a mashup of Frankenstein and Flatliners, The Lazarus Effect is the tale of a team of scientists trying to play God. Unfortunately, critics say the film does remarkably little with its intriguing premise and talented cast, resulting in a sci-fi frightfest with few scares and less-than-credible science. Engaged scientists Frank (Mark Duplass) and Zoe (Olivia Wilde) have discovered a way to bring the dead back to life. But when Zoe is killed in a lab accident, her colleagues re-animate her — and open a can of worms in the process. The pundits say The Lazarus Effect is pretty generic stuff that could use a jolt of electricity itself. (Read our interview with Duplass here here.)

What’s On TV:

“Hero” marks the essential early evolution of Saul’s conning skills, beginning his amusing transformation into the well-known Breaking Bad personality.

Stars Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon make a fine Oscar and Felix, but The Odd Couple‘s flat jokes and canned laughter are pretty old hat.

Also opening this week in limited release:

• Farewell to Hollywood, a documentary about a filmmaker who collaborates on a feature with a teenager suffering from cancer, is at 100 percent.
• ’71, starring Jack O’Connell in a drama about a young British soldier fending for himself on the streets of battle-scarred Belfast, is Certified Fresh at 98 percent.
• Kirby Dick‘s The Hunting Ground, a documentary about sexual assault on college campuses, is at 91 percent.
• Wild Canaries, starring Alia Shawkat and Jason Ritter in a screwball comedy about a group of friends who investigate the death of an elderly neighbor, is at 88 percent.
• Eastern Boys, a drama about a man whose life is upended after picking up a young hustler at a Parisain train station, is at 85 percent.
• Bluebird, starring Amy Morton and John Slattery in a drama about a school bus driver whose careless error has major repercussions within her community, is at 73 percent.
• Young Bodies Heal Quickly, a dramedy about a 20-something who escapes from prison and recruits his younger brother into some illegal doings, is at 71 percent.
• David Cronenberg‘s Maps to the Stars, starring Julianne Moore and Mia Wasikowska in a dark comedy about a variety of messed-up Hollywood denizens, is at 66 percent.
• My Life Directed By Nicolas Winding Refn, a documentary by Liv Corfixen about her home life and marriage to the famed Danish director, is at 63 percent.
• The Salvation, starring Mads Mikkelsen and Eva Green in a Western about a man who draws the ire of a vicious outlaw after avenging the killing of his wife, is at 59 percent.
• Out Of The Dark, starring Julia Stiles and Scott Speedman in a horror film about a family that relocates to a town in Colombia and is bedeviled by malevolent spirits, is at 50 percent.
• Everly, starring Salma Hayek in an action thriller about a woman who exacts bloody revenge on the mob boss who enslaved her, is at 45 percent.