"3000 Miles to Graceland"
International Elvis Week in Las Vegas draws a flood of King wannabes in sequined jumpsuits and mutton chop sideburns. But, five copycats that enter the Riviera Hotel and Casino have plans of their own - armed robbery with really big guns. This is just the beginning of a tale of betrayal, murder and revenge, starring Kurt Russell and Kevin Costner, in "3000 Miles to Graceland."
It has been a while since we've had a crime caper movie on a visual par with such films as "Con Air" or "True Romance," and it looked like "3000 Miles to Graceland" would fit the bill. We do get a pair of high-powered, heavy-ordinance shootouts, one early on and the other the dramatic finale, that provide the requisite thrills to grab the viewer's attention. But, these action bits are bridged with a cat-and-mouse chase as the two key figures, Michael (Kurt Russell) and Murphy (Kevin Costner), vie to take possession of the $3.2 million stolen from the casino.
Things start off amiably enough when Michael parks his vintage, candy-apple red, 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville convertible at the Last Chance Motel near Vegas. A local kid, Jessie Waingrow (David Kaye), steals the fancy valve caps off of the classic car and, to get them back, Michael meets the boy's mom, Cybil (Courtney Cox). Sparks fly between the lonely ex-con and the equally lonely Cybil and they have a romantic interlude. Then arrives Murphy and his three partners - Hanson (Christian Slater), Franklin (Bokeem Woodbine) and Gus (David Arquette).
Murphy, Michael and the rest, it turns out, are headed to Las Vegas for International Elvis Week, where thousands of the King's impersonators are gathering to honor their muse. The plan is, with all of the confusion in town, to hit one of the big casinos for a fortune. The heavily armed Elvises pull off the heist but are intercepted by security guards, ending in a violent shootout right in the middle of the casino. As the guys blast their way out, one of their number, Franklin, is hit and soon dies. When the remaining four thieves get together to split the booty, a conflict arises over Franklin's share. Hanson goes toe-to-toe with Murphy and loses, making it a team of three. When they head out to get rid of the body in an isolated place, Murphy tries to make their number just one - him.
Only Michael survives Murphy's attack and he tries to head off the killer from getting the loot. He teams up with Cybil and Jessie to get the cash laundered, all the while being relentlessly pursued by Murphy in a chase that ends with a major confrontation with the law.
I was a little disappointed, part way into the film, when the Elvises in Las Vegas bit falls by the wayside following the heist. It takes on a more personal note as Michael, Cybil and Jesse hit the road with Murphy in pursuit. Murphy has no trouble with killing and a string of bodies is left along the way as they all head for the Canadian border and freedom. But, this odd road movie takes on unusual proportions as greed kicks in and, for awhile, it's every man (or woman) for himself. At one point, Michael and Jessie are teamed as they chase Cybil who took the money and ran.
My complaint about "3000 Miles to Graceland" is the extended middle where double cross is met by double cross. While the personality dynamics is interesting, sometimes violent and sometimes amusing, it meanders along at times, making me wish for some judicious editing. The bookend violence of the story is shocking in its brutality and slick in its, no pun intended, execution. As the heist and subsequent shootout takes place, with fast, stylish inter-cutting between the violence and scenes from the dance floor where Elvis clones and beautiful showgirls sing and dance, unaware of the mayhem that is happening near by. The climactic finale is a Hollywood example of more bullets is better as Murphy goes out in a blaze of glory reminiscent of Jimmy Cagney in "White Heat."
Production credits are solid as we are brought into the fantasy world of Las Vegas and its International Elvis Week. There are Elvises in all shapes and sizes (there is even a dwarf Elvis who gets it during the heist) and this has some amusing turns with impersonators who look decidedly unlike the King. The gonzo gun duels are handled with fast camera work, faster editing and well choreographed violence. Videomaker Demian Lichenstein utilizes his music vid chops to infuse a hyperkinetic energy into the big shootouts.
The perfs are relegated to the four principles once the heist is over and Murphy thins the herd of contenders for the loot. Slater, Woodbine and Arquette get some mileage as the other members of the gang and, as they are offed, you wish there was more of them. But, the cast that's left does OK. Costner is surprisingly good as the taciturn and murderous Murphy. It is against his usual good guy persona and reflects one of his better performances of late. The likable Kurt Russell is the good guy among the bad and he gets to wear his shining armor to the end. Surprisingly, Courtney Cox delivers one of her better perfs as the sexy and human Cybil. Young David Kaye gives a good intro performance as the tough, self-sufficient Jessie.
"3000 Miles to Graceland" is not just a heist flick as the trailers reflect. It is that, but there is a larger story of greed, murder, betrayal and revenge that hones itself to a sharp point before the explosive ending. The two-hour run time could have been cut for a better film, but I still give it a B-.
For more Reeling reviews vist www.reelingreviews.com
robin@reelingreviews.com laura@reelingreviews.com
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews