Review by Dragan Antulov
½ star out of 4
Crime doesn't pay and this is the lesson that was supposed to be
learned by the protagonist of KOUNTERFEIT, 1996 thriller directed
by John Mallory Asher. Frankie (played by Bruce Payne) is a
seasoned criminal who had seen the error of his ways and turned to
more legitimate ways of earning money and became strip joint
owner. His good but not very bright friend Tommy "Hopscotch"
Hopkins (played by Andrew Hawkes) has failed to learn those
important life lessons and still dreams of making big money through
illegal means. He got himself a large sum of counterfeit dollar bills
and wants to sell them for a million US$ in real money. Frankie
decides to help his friend in the deal, but the routine exchange turns
into bloody shootout. One of the victims is undercover cop and his
sister Colleen (played by Hilary Swank) decides to track down his
killers and take the justice in her own hands.
Low budget of this film corresponds with the level of ambition
displayed by its makers. The plot recycles many obligatory elements
of low budget crime movies (vengeance as the prime motive for one
of the protagonist, good guys who don't turn out so good at the end)
and combines them with Tarantinoesque portrayal of small time
criminals as protagonists. Even the less experienced viewers won't
have much problem in deciphering the film's ending at least thirty
minutes before the closing credits. The only interesting thing about
KOUNTERFEIT is casting - Bruce Payne, specialised for the roles of
charismatic and over-the-top villains in low budget films, plays
somewhat different character here, while future "Oscar" winner
Hilary Swank makes very little impact in stereotypical and thankless
role. Those curiosities aren't the reasons enough for viewers to
subject themselves to 84 minutes of boredom.
Copyright © 2003 Dragan Antulov
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out of 4
