Focus

This is a relatively small movie for the Will Smith mega machine, a semi-standard conman movie that allows Smith to use his wisecracker persona. It does a good job making him likeable again after crap like After Earth, even if he's playing a lying scumbag. Nicky (Smith) is enjoying a fine meal at his hotel one night when Jess (Margot Robbie, who must be the hottest girl on God's green Earth—and all of the arctic and desert parts, too) sits at his table. This starts a movie-long relationship between the conman and the conwoman wannabe. Nicky co-runs a thievery ring that specializes in a lot of little scams and robberies, claiming that the smaller stuff all adds up. Jess, his trainee with a perfect touch when it comes to lifting watches, craves the “big sting.” Nicky wants nothing to do with that. Or does he? The first half of the movie is actually quite good, as we see Nicky showing Jess the ropes and battling with an urge to gamble. The second half of the film goes a little off course as Nicky goes to work for racecar mogul Garriga (Rodrigo Santoro) involving some sort of speed-reducing scheme. Gerald McRaney shows up as a grouchy bodyguard during this portion of the film, and he helps to elevate it over the material. As a conman movie, this one falls way short of films like The Sting, but is much better than crap like Now You See Me. For Will Smith films, it also falls somewhere in the middle. As for Robbie, well, just see it for the watch-robbing Robbie. She steals the movie, lifting that sucker right off of Will Smith's unsuspecting wrist.