3000 MILES TO GRACELAND -----------------------
Murphy (Kevin Costner) is a hard boiled criminal who believe's he's the illegitimate son of Elvis. His former cellmate Michael (Kurt Russell) has agreed to meet him at the Last Chance motel outside of Las Vegas to pull off a unique heist. Murphy, Michael and Murphy's recruits Hanson (Christian Slater), Gus (David Arquette, "Ready to Rumble") and Franklin (Bokeem Woodbine, "The Rock") will become color coded Elvis impersonators under cover of the chaos of International Elvis week to rob the Riviera Hotel and Casino in "3000 Miles to Graceland."
Music video director/cowriter (with Richard Recco) Demian Lichtenstein begins things snappily with his opening credit sequence of giant black (symbolizing Murphy) and white (Michael's standin) computer generated scorpion-robots battling in the desert to driving hard rock. This clever bit of imagery morphs into live action as Michael arrives at the Last Chance. There he meets 'Cybil with a C' (Courtney Cox Arquette, TV's 'Friends'), single mother of young kleptomaniac son Jesse (David Kaye, "Legends of the Fall"). Jesse steals Michael's custom lug nuts off his 59' cherry red Cadillac, Cybil returns them then quickly maneuvers Michael into the sack.
Murphy and his gang arrive, pick up Michael, and perform their daring heist to the tune of $3.2 million. Unplanned is the massive body count left behind before the arrival of their escape helicopter on the building's rooftop. Unknown was Murphy's intent to murder his colleagues before heading north to launder the loot. A bulletproof vest worn by Michael and that stealing habit of Jesse's change Murphy's plans while Michael finds himself on the run with a woman he doesn't trust and her precocious son.
"3000 Miles to Graceland" is a pretty flashy ride, but suffers from shallow characterizations and an over-the-top ending (think "Con Air"). Lichtenstein mostly uses his music video background to good effect, only occasionally overstepping the line between feature filmmaking and imagery that should have been left on MTV. Technically, the film is slick, particularly in the shooting and editting of the early heist scene (cinematography by David Franco ("The Whole Nine Yards") who moves his camera up one side of a subject, over it and downside the other; editing by Michael J. Duthie ("Stigmata") and Miklos Wright).
Lichtenstein is less successful with his writing. It's hinted that Murphy is conflicted in his feelings for 'the King,' his purported father, but Lichtenstein doesn't go deep enough. Similarly, Michael is too much of a 'good' bad guy - he knocks guards out and shoots glass partitions out to slow down pursuers while his colleagues are massacring everyone in site - yet we're given no back story as to why he spent over five years in jail and why he's aligned himself with Murphy in the first place. Cybil is written as more of a plot device than a character.
The principal actors try to flesh out their characters, though. Costner is effective as a real evil villain - clearly he's having some fun with this role. Courtney Cox Arquette takes a shallow role and really runs with it. Russell is appealing, but the least successful at defining his character.
Thomas Haden Church (TV's 'Wings') puts a droll spin on Marshall Quigley, the man on Murphy's tail. Peterson, the Idaho money launderer, is given the usual oily/whiny Jon Lovitz routine.
"3000 Miles to Graceland" is a fairly entertaining film that begins with a bang and ends with too much contrivance.
B-
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