The Line

R 5.1
2009 1 hr 35 min Drama , Action , Thriller , Crime

The story centers around veteran assassin Mark Shields as he tracks down, Pelon, the elusive head of the Salazar Crime Cartel. Through twists of fate, Shields ends up with a local woman, Olivia who is also fighting her own demons for the sake of her daughter. Set in the rich and atmospheric backdrop of Tijuana, Mexico, La Linea (The Line) is full of action and drama.

  • Cast:
    Ray Liotta , Andy García , Esai Morales , Armand Assante , Valerie Cruz , Kevin Gage , Bruce Davison

Reviews

Lovesusti
2009/05/11

The Worst Film Ever

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Hottoceame
2009/05/12

The Age of Commercialism

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FirstWitch
2009/05/13

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

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Kinley
2009/05/14

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

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hkollar
2009/05/15

This movie is supposed to symbolize something. I couldn't figure what that was. A very confusing story line, disjointed story telling and some incomprehensible characters makes it a insomniacs delight. Ray Liotta is a sniper, who has killed a lady by mistake in the past. Image of that lady haunts him. We are never told who he was actually trying to kill or who that lady was with sentances like "No one really cared"!! Perhaps the script writer and director didn't!There were too many questions at the end of the movie. Why does the God father go along with this plan? Why he wants his step-son dead? Why the US secret agency doesn't just kill the Afghans? I fell asleep within half an hour! Highly advice you to skip this.

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rcreekmur
2009/05/16

This is one of those films that has so many characters in it that it's very easy to lose track of the plot as people discuss their intricate relationships and interactions. I enjoyed the film and was engrossed in it, but frequently lost due to the many twists and turns. Of course part of the appeal is wondering just who is doing what to whom and why, so perhaps this isn't as much of a problem as I'm making it out to be.It's a very well-made, well-acted film with a great cast and exotic, frightening location. I doubt it will do much for tourism to Tijuana, but it is a very taut, timely movie that will hold your interest. There are a few typical clichés (the hooker with the heart of gold - Mexicans who speak English to each other even when there are no native English speakers around), but these are kept to a minimum. Ray Liota is one of the producers of the film, but it's not "his" movie. In fact, Andy Garcia does a superb job of being quietly creepy and even a bit sympathetic. If you're looking for a powerful, somewhat dark drama, The Line fits the bill excellently.

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ColonelFaulkner
2009/05/17

I'd never heard of this film at all but snapped it up when I saw the cast and read the back of the jacket. Suffice to say it didn't quite live up to expectations and once again proved the age old adage of 'don't judge a book (or a DVD) by its cover'. Watchable for the most part, this is a film that adds up at the end to a little bit less than the sum of all its parts. I guessed correctly that the director was pretty new to this game and I must say those behind the scenes did pretty well to secure Liotta, Garcia and Asante for this.In a nutshell, when the Taliban attempt to form an alliance with a powerful northern Mexican drug cartel, supplying drugs in exchange for being able to use their smuggling network, they attract the attention of US intelligence agencies and the covert ops heat is brought down on them (or so it appears). At the same time there's a power struggle for control of the cartel amongst the heirs apparent to the throne. Little is seen of officialdom and we are instead treated to local operatives/soldiers of fortune and their controllers south of the border.There is no shortage of violence, tempered by the character of Liotta, a man haunted and tormented by the female victim of a previous hit. Naturally he's seeking some kind of redemption which is nicely and conveniently laid out at the end of the film along with a twist that merely serves to undermine much of any credibility previously established throughout the rest of the film.The film is short of dialogue and any real character development, instead relying on visuals and the score to create atmosphere, set scenes and keep the story moving along, Some of the editing and camera work seems a bit attention deficit disorder orientated as well, with perhaps a time limit of a couple of seconds placed on any one shot. I didn't find it too much of a problem but I know that it's a major annoyance for some people.This film was let down badly both with the twist ending and the inclusion of a 'Taliban' plot, both of which were unnecessary and I thought damaging to the credibility of the rest of the film. Not only that, but after an hour and a half or so of portraying Tijuana as a seedy sh!th0le full of thugs, thieves, gangsters and hookers, the director had the audacity to insert a big 'what a wonderful place Tijuana is and what wonderful people live there' message just at the start of the closing credits. I thought this summed up the whole project quite well, not quite doing what the makers thought they were doing.Worth a look, but not a must see.

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martin-ortiz
2009/05/18

It is very difficult to give something new to the audience. Specially when talking about such a controversial topics as Drug dealing, mafia, terrorism, cartels Etc.Being Mexican myself I looked forward to see how a new director would portray this "not to take lightly" topic. The first impression I got as I began to watch the movie was the serious influence of Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic", a fabulous movie which provides an unusual vision of the drug underworld. As the movie continued it was not difficult to identify some the similarity with some other movies, not only character wise, but also concerning plot, conflict and even cinematography.Shields' character is a weird mix of Denzel's Creasy in Man on fire and Pierce Brosnan's hit-man in Matador. Both very well structured characters, but when combined do not have the same effect.It is difficult to be bring something new to Drug dealing movies, particularly because everything has pretty much been said about dealing drugs; so when a director tries to give some extra dramatic flavor, it has a contradictory effect, It is appealing but not very coherent.Check out this movie it is not completely dismissible, specially if you take into account its independent nature. But do not expect to see anything worth referring to in the future.

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