Movie · 2012 · Thriller, Comedy, Action, Crime · 1h 35m · R · English
Curator score: 0.5/10 (60.4K ratings)
They don't make 'em like they used to.
Overview
After serving 28 years in prison for accidentally killing the son of a crime boss, newly paroled gangster Val reunites with his former partners in crime, Doc and Hirsch, for a night on the town. As the three men revisit old haunts, reflect on their glory days and try to make up for lost time, one wrestles with a terrible quandary: Doc has orders to kill Val, and time is running out for him to figure out a way out of his dilemma.
Ratings
Curator score: 0.5/10
IMDb: 6.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 37%
Metacritic: 41
TMDB: 6.0/10
Director
Fisher Stevens
Production
Lionsgate, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Lakeshore Entertainment
Cast
Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin, Julianna Margulies, Addison Timlin, Vanessa Ferlito, Mark Margolis, Katheryn Winnick, Lucy Punch, Bill Burr, Lauriane Gilliéron, Courtney Platt, Craig Sheffer, Buster Reeves, Sam Upton, Yorgo Constantine, Keone Young, Weronika Rosati, Arjun Gupta
Where to watch
Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A modest crime-comedy built around the chemistry of Pacino, Walken, and Arkin. The cast gives it charm and a few memorable moments, but the script is uneven and the tonal blend of melancholy, violence, and broad humor never fully clicks.
Best for
fans of actor-driven crime movies
viewers who enjoy hangout-style capers
people curious about late-career performances from major stars
audiences open to a flawed but watchable odd-couple/old-friends story
Skip if
you want a tightly plotted thriller
you are looking for sharp dialogue throughout
you dislike tonal whiplash between comedy and crime
you prefer crime films with real menace or emotional depth
Overview
Stand Up Guys is the kind of movie that exists almost entirely on the strength of its cast. Pacino, Walken, and Arkin make an appealing trio, and the film knows enough to let them wander, bicker, reminisce, and occasionally explode into violence. When it leans into their chemistry, it has a scruffy, late-night charm.
Worth noting
The problem is that the screenplay never quite matches the promise of the premise. It wants to be a bittersweet old-gangsters comedy, a revenge story, and a sentimental farewell all at once, and the seams show. Some scenes land, others feel like placeholders for a better movie.
Bottom line
Still, if you’re in the mood for a minor crime picture with a strong cast and a few genuine laughs, it’s easy enough to sit through. It’s less a lost classic than a watchable vanity vehicle that occasionally remembers how good these actors can be when the material cooperates.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Michael James (2.5★) · 127 likes
Just another strictly average meandering drama, that holds a few serviceable emotional touches and old days homage moments to the legendary trio of Al Pacino, Christopher Walken n Alan Arkin. Just for the cast. Nothing beyond.
Paul Schrader · 96 likes
Lionsgate sent screeners of Stand Up Guys with Pacino and Walken yet unreleased. After 15 minutes I had to shut it off. Sad. Embarrassing. To see great artists of one's own generation reduced to self parody.
morgan (3★) · 69 likes
The story was fun, the script wasn't that great but seeing grandpa Pacino run about causing mayhem was pretty enjoyable.
megan (2.5★) · 52 likes
can christopher walken’s pants go any higher??
chavel (3★) · 51 likes
Among the more entertaining old dogs on a last hurrah movies. Stand Up Guys is a tailor-fit vehicle for Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin that reminds us why they have been so good over the years. They share an all-night odyssey that doesn’t tire, and there are a surprising number of hooks that keeps the screenplay’s motors running. Fisher Stevens, the once unbearably dorky actor, is a surprisingly refined director who seems to know how to grease his… more Among the more entertaining old dogs on a last hurrah movies. Stand Up Guys is a tailor-fit vehicle for Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin that reminds us why they have been so good over the years. They share an all-night odyssey that doesn’t tire, and there are a surprising number of hooks that keeps the screenplay’s motors running. Fisher Stevens, the once unbearably dorky actor, is a surprisingly refined director who seems to know how to grease his… more
1984 · Action, Comedy, Crime · 2h 1m · R · Curator 4.0/10 (20.4K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A scrappy New York crime dramedy about friendship, bad decisions, and the comic futility of small-time criminal dreams.