Get Carter (2000 film)

Infobox Film | name = Get Carter

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image_size =
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director = Stephen Kay
producer = Mark Canton
Neil Canton
writer = Novel:
Ted Lewis
Screenplay:
David McKenna
starring = Sylvester Stallone
Miranda Richardson
Rachael Leigh Cook
Mickey Rourke
Michael Caine
music =
cinematography = Mauro Fiore
editing =
distributor = Warner Bros. Pictures
released = October 6, 2000
runtime = 102 minutes
language =
rating =
budget = $ 40,000,000
preceded_by =
followed_by =
amg_id = 1:214069
imdb_id = 0208988

"Get Carter" is the 2000 remake of Michael Caine's classic 1971 crime film, starring Sylvester Stallone in the role of Jack Carter. The film also features Miranda Richardson (Gloria Carter), Rachel Leigh Cook (Doreen Carter), Alan Cumming (Jeremy Kinnear), Mickey Rourke (Cyrus Paice), Rhona Mitra (Geraldine) and Michael Caine (Cliff Brumby).

Plot

Jack Carter (Stallone) is a cool and calculating mob enforcer who's known for his physical means of getting the job done.

When told that his brother was killed in a drunk driving accident, Jack returns home to Seattle where he tries to make amends with Richie's wife, Gloria (Richardson), and his niece Doreen (Cook). Jack also investigates Richie's death after he realizes Richie was murdered. While he starts snooping around, his mob partner in Las Vegas, Con McCarty (McGinley), covers for him with the mob boss, Fletcher. A secondary plot revolves around an affair Carter was having with Fletcher's girlfriend, Audrey (Mol).

His first stop in his investigation is with loan shark Cliff Brumby (Caine), the owner of the club that Richie managed. Brumby doesn't believe Jack's allegations of murder, but does tell him that Richie was having an affair with Geraldine (Mitra), an associate of local boss Cyrus Paice (Rourke).

Cyrus is Jack's old enemy, and while Jack can't get anything from Cyrus, Cyrus unknowingly leads Jack to Jeremy Kinnear (Cumming), a wealthy computer mogul who uses Cyrus's services for female accompaniment, as well as Eddie (Strong), one of the club' strongest bouncers and enforcers. Although he can't get any straight answers, Jack continues to pursue the truth, carefully examining the surveillance tapes from Brumby's club, looking for anything that might offer any sort of clue.

Jack discovers that Cyrus had made an amateur porn movie where he and Geraldine would pick up different young girls, drug them and rape them. Jack watches the film and learns that Doreen was one of the victims. Cyrus and those who helped him make the disc didn't know that Doreen was Richie's daughter. Before he died, Richie was given the disc by Geraldine. Richie was murdered as he was taking the disc to the police, with Cyrus having it set up to look like an accident.

Con and a fellow gangster from Las Vegas track Jack down and confront him after Jack says he's done with Vegas. After knocking both of the men out, Jack has a talk with Doreen about what happened.

Intending to settle the score, Jack begins a path of vengeance. He gets a frantic, apologetic call from Geraldine who tells him Paice was coming to kill her. After he finds Geraldine's body, Carter heads straight to Eddie's apartment, and throws Eddie off of a balcony to his death. Carter gets involved in a car chase with Con and the other gangster, only to lose them when he causes them to lose control of their vehicle. Visiting Kinnear's house, he confronts Cyrus, who tells Jack that he should be going after Kinnear, because Kinnear is the man behind Ritchie's murder. Jack has a vicious fight with Cyrus, losing at first only to return and kill Cyrus. He then confronts Kinnear, who says that all he told Cyrus to do was get the disc back from Richie, not kill Richie, and that it was Cyrus and Brumby who killed Richie. Carter decides to not kill Kinnear. After getting a call from Audrey, who breaks up with him, Carter confronts Brumby as Brumby is breaking into his car to retrieve the disc. Brumby admits that he was involved in the murder and, as he is walking away, Carter shoots him in the back.

After settling the score for his dead brother, Carter starts thinking that maybe collecting debts for a mob boss is not the life for him, having formed a bond with Doreen. He leaves for whereabouts unknown.

Cast

*Sylvester Stallone ... Jack Carter
*Miranda Richardson ... Gloria Carter
*Rachael Leigh Cook ... Doreen Carter
*Rhona Mitra ... Geraldine
*Johnny Strong ... Eddie
*John C. McGinley ... Con McCarty
*Alan Cumming ... Jeremy Kinnear
*Michael Caine ... Cliff Brumby
*John Cassini ... Thorpey
*Mickey Rourke ... Cyrus Paice

Critical reception

Critical reaction was largely negetive. The film received a 12% favorable rating among the critics tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. [ [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1100569-get_carter/ Get Carter] , Rotten Tomatoes] It did not do well at the box office, with worldwide takings of approximately US$19 million coming under the production budget of $40 million.

Among the positive reviews, JoBlo.com praised "the sharp turn given by Sly Stallone, its groovy tunes, and its generally dark and gritty nature." [ [http://www.joblo.com/reviews.php?mode=joblo_movies&id=17 JoBlo.com review] ] Rob Blackwelder of SPLICEDWire called the film "a stimulating visual showcase of stylish film making that keeps a viewer's attention." [ [http://splicedwire.com/00reviews/getcarter.html SPLICEDWire review] ] Chuck O'Leary of FulvueDrive-in.com said that "the original "Get Carter" is better, but this is quite watchable as far as modern-era remakes go." [Review by Chuck O'Leary, FulvueDrive-in.com]

Shawn Levy of the Portland Oregonian gave an average review, saying that "the film doesn't touch the original, it doesn't hit rock bottom, either." [Review by Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times said the film is "not a terrible movie" but "too routine for its own good." [Review by Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times] Marc Savlov of the Austin Chronicle said that "the film itself is a muddle, [but] what is good is Stallone.". [Review by Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle] Bob Graham of the San Francisco Chronicle said the film "is murkier than it needs to be, through no fault of Stallone's." [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/10/07/DD1017CH.DTL&type=movies Review by Bob Graham] , San Francisco Chronicle]

Among the negative reviews, Todd McCarthy of Variety called the film "a useless remake." [ [http://www.variety.com/body.asp?HbkId=61345&CatId=REV&ReviewID=1117788272&SubCatid=31 Review by Todd McCarthy] , Variety] A.O. Scott of the The New York Times said that the film is "so minimally plotted that not only does it lack subtext or context, but it also may be the world's first movie without even a text." [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/07/arts/07CART.html Review by A.O. Scott] , The New York Times] Elizabeth Weitzman of the New York Daily News called the film "a throwaway story hidden beneath a messy jumble of weird camera angles, worthless editing tricks and an ill-placed, obnoxious score." [Review by Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News]

The film was deemed 'Worst Remake Ever' in a 2004 poll by DVD rental firm ScreenSelect [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3969245.stm "Get Carter is 'Worst Film Remake'"] , BBC News] It was also nominated for two Golden Raspberry Awards in 2000: "Worst Actor" ("Sylvester Stallone") and "Worst Remake or Sequel."

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0208988|title=Get Carter
* [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=getcarter.htm Box office information]