Sometimes a movie fails to impress but still has some redeeming quality; strong acting can provide some satisfaction when the script falls short, or cinematography can deliver a beautiful film even if the characters are one-dimensional. \Formula 51"" is one of those movies that manages to fail on so many fronts, the viewer leaves the theatre wondering how the movie ever got made.
It's plain before the opening credits roll that this is a Samuel Jackson vehicle. He's the only proven actor in the film and it all rides upon him. The problem is that there is far too much wrong for Jackson to save the project alone.
Jackson plays Elmo McElroy, whom we're introduced to in the opening of the film. Shortly after graduating with honors in chemistry, McElroy's entire life is turned on its head by a drug bust'and the audience is subjected to Jackson doing his best of Cheech and Chong all on his own. Cut forward 30 years'McElroy is now finishing a new drug, supposedly 51 times stronger than cocaine, heroin or any other drug and completely made of over-the-counter substances. He double-crosses his mob boss, and the rest of the movie is spent in chase of McElroy and his formula.
Co-stars consist of his mob boss The Lizard (Meat Loaf), hit-woman Dakota (Emily Mortimer) and local dealer Felix (Robert Carlyle). Considering that these secondary players are unproven, it's difficult to tell whether the fault lies with the actors or the script. However, Jackson's own performance answers that question'any script that relegates such a talented actor to such a crude, ridiculous role must be flawed beyond repair.
""Formula 51"" is part Tarantino, part Guy Ritchie; Jackson's performance is essentially his Pulp Fiction character, plus a touch of Shaft and a kilt (we never find out why he wears it, and this is supposed to pass as the best joke in the film). That's what writer Stel Pavlou would like us to believe, anyway. In reality, ""Formula 51"" is all about ineffective, crude jokes, bad accents, disappointing British humor, average action sequences, and a style of editing that is a poor attempt to reproduce the style of the aforementioned directors. Then again, director Ronny Yu's credits include ""Bride of Chucky"" and the upcoming ""Freddy vs. Jason"" film, so is it really so surprising that his directorial skills fail on so many levels?
One gets the impression that this movie was pitched as a poor knockoff of recent British gangster movies, plus Jackson and his kilt' looks like anything can be turned into big screen material today.
