Huievest
Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
Grimossfer
Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
PiraBit
if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
Patience Watson
One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.
Georges Drouet
Excellent movie that mixes today's modern South Africa with the story of repression over black people through the apartheid and the way it has left scars in the collective memory.Orlando Bloom plays a excellent role that reminds his family's past and the loneliness of a kid involved in the struggle of liberty. Forest Whitaker plays all his talent as a cop carrying all the sadness of the apartheid, packed of emotion with the exact restraint that brings his character to perfection.This movie is one of the best I have seen in a while, photo, sound, details, all is perfectly balanced between action and emotion.Warmly recommended!
jasonbarnettnz
This isn't much of a movie. Three of us watched this and after wards we were left with nothing. No memory or reason to talk about it. It was just blah. The story is forced and contrived in many scenes. The clues come too easily.. Blooms character is bulletproof. This film uses tits and arse to keep people interested in the first hour. In fact every opportunity is used to show some nakedness for blatant reasons. Blooms character is shirtless while having a lady over for dinner. This doesn't make sense, except so the women in the audience can get a thrill. The various tit scenes near the start and even Blooms girlfriend is topless while in the apartment for a 4 second shot. No opportunity is wasted to sell sex. Its just not realistic. This is how many people might imagine south Africa or Capetown to be, but its just nothing like this. This is Hollywood. If you like gritty depressing films with bulletproof characters who just happen to be in the right place at the right time and plenty of tits and arse thrown in for good measure, and a lot of violence then you'll love this film!
Luca-Aversa
This movie couldn't be further from the truth.It is very clear that this is a story conceived with American culture in mind and then adapted to the racism, drug trafficking of South Africa.The performances are unrealistic to real life in Cape Town (and lets bear in mind that Cape Town is a social beat unlike any other South African city), it is a mess.People do their best to avoid each other or getting involved with the law. The black stripper girl scene would never happen in South Africa. The girl on the horse/beach scene would never happen in South Africa.If a woman on a horse sees a strange man lurking around an abandoned building on a relatively quiet beach, it is common South African and especially Cape Town sense to steer very clear and just chalk it up to a guy going for a pee.There is not a chance that she would approach the guy, question the guy and then trust to meet the guy at a police station without ever seeing a badge! That is just utter fantasy.What I am getting at here is that this story it terribly forced, it it clearly written by someone who has never lived in South Africa or if they have, they do not have a very keen eye and sense for what makes South African people South African people.Apart from the star cast of Mr Bloom and Mr Whitaker, The rest of the cast is a bevy of B grade actors that made it into the film compliments from the ever-present Capetonian nepotism.If you look up the SA cast you will find a very intricate web of people that went to school together or are directly linked via blood or some close friend.Unfortunately the cast director for Zulu was not presented with a list of the best actors it could buy, but a list of 'who thinks they are who' on the Cape Town social/film scene.It makes me very sad as I was looking forward to watching this film and seeing somebody tackle this subject, but it is clear to me that this film is an even worse botch than The Tourist ever was.
kosmasp
It's funny (sort of), that after watching this movie, I felt like this could've been a story arc in a really good TV show. You could "exploit" (make this bigger, a season filling thread) and it would still work. Having said that, the corruption theme, the theme of violence is not new. Forrest Whitacker and Orlando Bloom help elevate this movie quite a lot (the depiction of brutality also does, if you are not appalled by it of course).The story is easy to follow, with family problems thrown in for good measure. The back-story and the political themes are woven nicely into it all, without it getting too complex. A really good thriller, that unfortunately did not well at the Box Office.