''Give 'Em Hell, Malone'' is a 2009 American

neo-noir Neo-noir is a film genre that adapts the visual style and themes of 1940s and 1950s American film noir for contemporary audiences, often with more graphic depictions of violence and sexuality. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the term ...

action thriller film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by

Russell Mulcahy Russell Mulcahy ( ; born 23 June 1953) is an Australian director of film, television, and music videos. He began his career directing music videos for artists like Elton John and Duran Duran, before making his feature directorial debut with the ...

and starring

Thomas Jane Thomas Jane (born Thomas Elliott III; February 22, 1969) is an American actor. Born and raised in Maryland, Jane's film career started with the Telugu-language romantic comedy '' Padamati Sandhya Ragam'' (1987). His other early films included ...

Ving Rhames Irving Rameses Rhames ( ; born May 12, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying IMF Agent Luther Stickell in the Mission: Impossible (film series), ''Mission: Impossible'' film series (1996–2025) and crime boss Marsellus Wal ...

and

Elsa Pataky Elsa Lafuente Medianu (; born 18 July 1976), known professionally as Elsa Pataky, is a Spanish model and actress. Pataky is known for her leading role of Raquel Alonso in the Spanish teen drama '' Al salir de Clase'' (1997-2002)'','' before garn ...

Plot

An ex-private eye turned gun for hire named Malone is hired to retrieve a suitcase from a building full of armed mobsters, but a violent shootout ensues and Malone is eventually left as the only survivor. Suspecting a set-up, he retains the only noteworthy item contained in the case - a small painted animal referred to as "the meaning of love" - for himself, prompting several different parties in the employ of a local gangster - Whitmore - to pursue Malone in attempt to discern the meaning of the case's contents. After a series of violent encounters leaving many dead, Malone eventually confronts Whitmore, who admits he was responsible for hiring Malone and planted the toy - a keepsake belonging to Malone's young son - as a means to trick Malone into exterminating Whitmore's criminal help, allowing Whitmore to become a legitimate businessman without worrying about being tainted by potential loose ends from his criminal past. Malone kills Whitmore and phones his (Malone's) wife and son - previously presumed dead - but does not engage them in conversation. A title-over at the end reads, "To Be Continued...".

Cast

as Malone *

as "Boulder" *

as Evelyn *

French Stewart Milton French-Stewart (born February 20, 1964), known professionally as French Stewart, is an American actor. He played Harry Solomon on the NBC sitcom ''3rd Rock from the Sun'', Inspector Gadget in the superhero comedy film '' Inspector Gadget ...

as Frankie "The Crooner" *

Leland Orser Leland Jones Orser (born August 6, 1960) is an American actor, director and writer. He has appeared in numerous film and television roles since his debut in 1991, notably as Lucien Dubenko on the television series '' ER'' (2004–09), Father Rome ...

as Murphy *

Chris Yen Chris Yen Tze-ching (born August 4, 1974) is a Hong Kong martial artist and actress. She is the younger sister of the actor Donnie Yen. She was noted for her roles in the films '' Protégé de la Rose Noire'', '' Adventures of Johnny Tao: Rock ...

as "Mauler" * William Abadie as "Pretty Boy" *

Gregory Harrison Gregory Neale Harrison (born May 31, 1950) is an American actor. He is known primarily for his roles as Dr. George Alonzo "Gonzo" Gates, the young surgeon assistant of Dr. Trapper John McIntyre (played by Pernell Roberts) on the CBS series '' Tr ...

as Whitmore *

Doug Hutchison Doug Anthony Hutchison (born May 26, 1960) is an American actor known for his character roles in film and television, often playing disturbed and antagonistic characters. He was nominated for a Satellite Award for his portrayal of the sadistic ...

as "Matchstick"

Release

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray January 26, 2010.

Critical reception

Tyler Foster of ''

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

'' gave the film a negative review, calling it "a movie that's groan-worthy when it follows the beaten path and annoying when it tries to subvert it" and unfavorably compared it to

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book artist, comic book writer, and screenwriter known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'', for which he created the character Elektra, and ...

's ''

The Spirit The Spirit may refer to: * Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, p ...

''. Brian Pisco for ''Pajiba'' had similar feelings, stating that the film "sets up asskickery that never comes about.".

Sequel

A sequel to the film was announced in 2021, with Jane and Hosack returning as actor and screenwriter respectively.

References

External links

* * {{Russell Mulcahy 2009 films 2000s English-language films 2009 action thriller films 2009 crime thriller films American action thriller films American crime thriller films Films set in the 1960s Films directed by Russell Mulcahy American neo-noir films Films produced by Brian Oliver 2000s American films Films scored by David C. Williams English-language crime thriller films English-language action thriller films