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Jackson whiffsBy STEVE PERSALL, Times Film Critic
© St. Petersburg Times
Samuel L. Jackson carries the numbing crime flick Formula 51 on his back and his motivation for making such a bad movie on his shoulder. As executive producer and an avid golfer, Jackson must have been tempted by a role placing him near some of Great Britain's best golf courses. His character, corrupt American chemist Elmo McElroy, always carries his golf clubs. There's no reason, except for one scene when he tees off on some ruffians chasing him because, well, that's what ruffians do in movies where action speaks louder than logic. Elmo has devised a recreational drug 51 times stronger than any other, planning to sell the formula for $20-million for what appears to be a lucrative rave market in Liverpool. Jackson, normally one of our most electrifying actors, performs as if he's contemplating his golf swing, going through the profane motions that made him a star. Nobody has a more daggered glare, or can convey such ironic incredulity that he isn't getting what he wants. It's a performance aimed at his fans, not at making new ones. Director Ronny Yu works as if he's doing his best to accommodate Jackson's tee times. The camera veers through gloomy settings like a cocaine addict looking for a fix. Everybody speaks so loudly and rapidly, mostly with working class British accents that make the dialogue even more inconsequential than it reads on the printed page. Formula 51 is simply a mess, a brain-dead excuse to rip off Guy Ritchie's Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. There appear to be some efforts to make this a spoof of such violent capers, yet everything is played with such straight faces that humor is unrecognizable. The best punchlines are grisly; a swallowed pill making a bad guy explode, splattering innards all over the room; a crushing death so incidental that several beats pass before the viewer realizes exactly what happened. A bungled shootout attains a minor level of sick comedy, although any accomplishments here seem purely accidental. Jackson maintains his dignity despite wearing a kilt, while other actors either go over-the-top -- Meat Loaf is a ham -- or under the radar, like Emily Mortimer as the least chilling paid assassin in recent memory. Formula 51 also has the unfortunate coincidence of Mortimer using a .223-caliber rifle, making scenes of victims in her crosshairs especially uncomfortable in light of the recent sniper attacks in the Washington suburbs. Yu's movie is hectic without good reason while Jackson contemplates working on his handicap, which in this case is this movie. REVIEWFormula 51 Grade: D Director: Ronny Yu Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer, Rhys Ifans, Meat Loaf Screenplay: Stel Pavlou Rating: R; violence, profanity, drug abuse, sexual situations Running time: 92 min.
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