Focus (2015) Spoiler-Free Review

It took me a while to get around to watching Focus though I’m not sure why. I saw the trailer and thought it seemed like a genuinely good idea. A very skilled but troubled con man hilariously named Nicky (Will Smith) takes a very amateur but incredibly hot con woman named Jess (Margot Robbie) under his wing but naturally they begin to fall for each other. But love and lies rarely mix.

Will Smith usually makes good films (After Earth didn’t actually happen, did it?) and Margot Robbie’s stock is definitely rising in Hollywood. Very good performances from both of them individually, but they also have pretty good job onscreen chemistry. Then again, Smith tends to have chemistry with everyone.

I personally cannot wait for them to team up again in 2016 for Suicide Squad. Focus almost starred Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in the lead roles. Given their on screen chemistry, Focus might have been ten times better but let’s not be those people. Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet could have been twenty times better. You see where I’m going with this.

I think the main reason I liked this film was because I wasn’t expecting Inception when I walked in. I was looking for a good Sunday afternoon popcorn flick and this was just that. I was hoping for a clever film with a few good twists and Focus delivered for the most part. Being a film about gambits, you would expect the odd curve ball to make you go “oh shit I didn’t see that coming.” Focus had a quite a few. Not all of them blew me away and some of them I saw coming, but still, a very good job overall.

So basically, if you’re looking for a good film for a lazy afternoon, Focus could definitely be that film for you.

Should you watch it? Yes. But it’s not the The Thomas Crown Affair or Ocean’s Eleven so don’t go in with huge expectations. Just roll with it.

Rating: 6.8/10