The Big Bang (2011 film)

Last updated
The Big Bang
The Big Bang poster.jpg
2010 Movie Poster
Directed by Tony Krantz
Written by Erik Jendresen
Produced byErik Jendresen
Richard Rionda Del Castro
Starring Antonio Banderas
Sienna Guillory
Autumn Reeser
CinematographyShelly Johnson
Edited by Fred Raskin
Music by Johnny Marr
Distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment
Big Bang Production
Flame Ventures
Hannibal Pictures
North by Northwest Entertainment
Release dates
  • February 3, 2011 (2011-02-03)(Bahrain)
  • May 13, 2011 (2011-05-13)(United States)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$17 million

The Big Bang is a 2011 American action thriller film written by Erik Jendresen and directed by Tony Krantz, starring Antonio Banderas and Sienna Guillory.

Contents

Synopsis

Ned Cruz (Antonio Banderas) is a Los Angeles private investigator trying to find Lexie Persimmon (Sienna Guillory). The reclusive and eccentric billionaire Simon Kestral (Sam Elliott) is obsessed with finding "the god particle" by recreating the exact situation in which the universe may have formed. As the mystery unravels, Ned becomes unsure about whether Lexie actually exists. [1] [2] The film makes many references to particle physics and famous scientists. The character Fay Neman's name is a reference to physicist Richard Feynman.

Plot

Detectives Poley (William Fichtner), Frizer (Thomas Kretschmann), and Skeres (Delroy Lindo) are interrogating Ned Cruz (Antonio Banderas), a Los Angeles private investigator, who tells them that five years earlier, Russian mobster Skinny Faddeev gave $30 million in blood diamonds as an advance to Anton (Robert Maillet), a boxer, to intentionally lose a fight against his nephew. However, during the fight, Anton unintentionally killed the nephew. When Skinny was found dead, Anton was sentenced to life in prison. While Anton was in prison, he received over 200 letters from a woman named Lexie Persimmon.

Anton gives Ned the job of finding Lexie. Ned is skeptical about his job, since he doesn't have a photo of Lexie. As he starts investigating the various clues, people start dying mysteriously. Ned also notices that a black Lincoln is following him, which he assumes is the Russian Mafia. He finds a clue that leads him to believe that Lexie might be in San Celeritas, New Mexico.

Ned then meets a waitress named Fay Neman (Autumn Reeser)—a particle physics buff—who helps him. Ned meets Simon (Sam Elliott), his wife Julie (Sienna Guillory), and Niels Geck (Jimmi Simpson), a physicist who is conducting an experiment for Simon. Simon is interested only in finding the "God particle" and feels indifferent when Julie tries to warm up to Ned. Ned suspects that Julie might really be Lexie and decides to tell her what is happening. Meanwhile, Anton tracks down Ned to Simon's bungalow. Ned confronts Julie with his suspicions about Lexie's true identity, but Julie has no idea what he is talking about. Ned and Julie hear gunshots, causing Ned to suspect that Anton is at the house.

Realizing that he and Anton have both mistaken Julie for Lexie, Ned tries to save her. When the duo head toward the basement, Ned is astonished to find Niels dressed like a woman, and in a blonde wig. A box containing cosmetics has the phrase "Lex Parsimoniae"—a Latin phrase meaning "When all things are equal, the simplest solution is the best"—printed on it. Ned realizes that Niels had written the letters to Anton, who becomes angered when Niels tries to convince Anton to accept him. In a shootout, Ned is injured and passes out.

The story cuts back to the present day, where it is revealed that Niels and Anton killed each other while the detectives, who had followed Ned to Simon's house, held Ned and Julie hostage. Julie is kept bound and gagged with duct tape. Ned accuses the trio of following him and killing the people he met, also stating that Skinny was killed for diamonds, which his killer never recovered. Ned proves that Frizer killed all the people who could have known about the diamonds. Frizer admits his crimes, for which the other detectives scold him. Ned looks at a glass tank containing a gecko and realizes something; he tells the villains that he knows where Niels stored the diamonds.

The detectives take Ned and Julie to the spot where he had confronted Julie after she had shown him a hidden shoe box. While Julie and Ned are in the car, Skeres and Frizer go to get the shoe box. Meanwhile, Poley spots Julie and Ned signaling each other. He attacks them, but they overpower him and manage to drive the car towards Skeres and Frizer. Skeres and Frizer are disappointed when they discover the diamonds are not in the box. When they see the car coming towards them, they realize what is happening and start shooting. Ned shoots them both dead. Meanwhile, Simon the physicist's experiment destroys his lab and creates a giant crevasse. Ned and Julie speed away in the car, and later pick up Fay.

Cast

Reception

The film received negative reviews. As of October 2021, the film holds a 19% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 16 reviews with an average rating of 3.3/10. [4] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 25/100 based on 9 critics, indicating "generally unfavourable reviews". [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Another Thin Man</i> 1939 film directed by W. S. Van Dyke

Another Thin Man is a 1939 American detective film directed by W. S. Van Dyke, the third of six in the Thin Man series. It again stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles and is based on Dashiell Hammett's Continental Op story "The Farewell Murder". The Charles' son Nicky Jr. is introduced for the first time. The cast includes their terrier Asta, Virginia Grey, Otto Kruger, C. Aubrey Smith, Ruth Hussey, Nat Pendleton, Patric Knowles, Sheldon Leonard, Tom Neal, Phyllis Gordon and Marjorie Main. Shemp Howard appears in an uncredited role as Wacky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sienna Guillory</span> English actress

Sienna Tiggy Guillory is an English actress and former model. She portrayed Jill Valentine in several entries of the Resident Evil action-horror film series. Other prominent roles include elf princess Arya Dröttningu in the fantasy-adventure film Eragon, and the title role in the TV miniseries Helen of Troy. She has appeared in TV shows including Fortitude, Stan Lee's Lucky Man, and Luther.

<i>Blue Streak</i> (film) 1999 American buddy cop comedy film

Blue Streak is a 1999 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Les Mayfield. Inspired by the 1965 film The Big Job, the film stars Martin Lawrence, Luke Wilson, Dave Chappelle, Peter Greene, Nicole Ari Parker and William Forsythe. Lawrence plays Miles, a jewel thief who tries to retrieve a diamond he left at a police station, whereupon he disguises himself as a detective and gets paired with a real policeman to investigate burglaries. The film was shot on location in California. The prime shooting spot was Sony Pictures Studios, which is located in Culver City, California.

<i>Murder by Death</i> 1976 film by Robert Moore

Murder by Death is a 1976 American comedy mystery film directed by Robert Moore and written by Neil Simon. The film stars Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchester, David Niven, Peter Sellers, Maggie Smith, Nancy Walker, and Estelle Winwood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sienna Miller</span> American-born British actress (born 1981)

Sienna Rosie Diana Miller is an American-born British actress. Born in New York City and raised in London, she began her career as a photography model, appearing in the pages of Italian Vogue and for the 2003 Pirelli calendar. Her acting breakthrough came in the 2004 films Layer Cake and Alfie. She subsequently portrayed socialite Edie Sedgwick in Factory Girl (2006) and author Caitlin Macnamara in The Edge of Love (2008), and was nominated for the 2008 BAFTA Rising Star Award. Her role as The Baroness in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) was followed by a brief sabbatical from the screen amid increased tabloid scrutiny.

<i>Micki & Maude</i> 1984 film by Blake Edwards

Micki & Maude is a 1984 American romantic comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and starring Dudley Moore. It co-stars Tony Award-winning actress and dancer Ann Reinking as Micki and Amy Irving as Maude.

<i>Ned Rifle</i> 2014 film

Ned Rifle is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Hal Hartley. It is the third and final film in a trilogy following characters introduced in Hartley's 1997 film Henry Fool and 2006 sequel Fay Grim. Ned Rifle stars Liam Aiken as the title character, reprising his role from the other two films, as well as Aubrey Plaza, Parker Posey, James Urbaniak, and Thomas Jay Ryan.

<i>Henry Fool</i> 1997 American film

Henry Fool is a 1997 American black comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by Hal Hartley, featuring Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak, and Parker Posey. Set like previous Hartley films in less affluent parts of Long Island, it recounts how the lives of a fatherless family are overturned by a mysterious outsider and how, as in The Unbelievable Truth, expectation and reality again conflict.

<i>Fay Grim</i> 2006 American film

Fay Grim is a 2006 espionage thriller film written and directed by Hal Hartley. The film is a sequel to Hartley's 1997 film Henry Fool, and revolves around the title character, played by Parker Posey, the sister of Simon Grim. The plot revolves around Fay's attempt to unravel an increasingly violent mystery in Europe.

<i>Tarzan & Jane</i> 2002 film

Tarzan & Jane is a 2002 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, Released on July 23, 2002, it is a direct-to-video sequel to the Disney's 1999 animated feature Tarzan, and uses three then-unaired episodes of the film's corresponding television series, The Legend of Tarzan. Tarzan II, a prequel to both films, was released in 2005. The film is set one year after the events of the first film and Tarzan and Jane are married.

<i>3 Strikes</i> (film) 2000 film by DJ Pooh

3 Strikes is a 2000 American comedy film written and directed by DJ Pooh, and starring Brian Hooks, N'Bushe Wright, Faizon Love and David Alan Grier. Despite some commercial success, it was negatively received by critics. The title refers to California's habitual offender law, whereby three convictions confer an automatic life sentence.

<i>The Big Mouth</i> 1967 film by Jerry Lewis

The Big Mouth is a 1967 American comedy film produced, directed, co-written, and starring Jerry Lewis. It was filmed in San Diego and features Frank De Vol as an onscreen narrator.

<i>Renegades</i> (1989 film) 1989 film by Jack Sholder

Renegades is a 1989 American action crime film directed by Jack Sholder and starring Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips and Jami Gertz. It was released on June 2, 1989, by Universal Pictures.

<i>Dick Tracy vs. Cueball</i> 1946 film by Gordon Douglas

Dick Tracy vs. Cueball is a 1946 American action film based on the 1930s comic strip character of the same name created by Chester Gould. The film stars Morgan Conway as Dick Tracy in the second installment of the Dick Tracy film series released by RKO Radio Pictures. The villain, Cueball, is a murderous diamond thief who gets his monicker for his big, round head.

<i>Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang)</i> 2001 film by Stewart Sugg

Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) is a 2001 British comedy film written and directed by Stewart Sugg. It features Stellan Skarsgård, Chris Penn, and Paul Bettany.

<i>Sorted</i> (film) 2000 British thriller film

Sorted is a 2000 British thriller film directed by Alexander Jovy and starring Matthew Rhys, Sienna Guillory, Fay Masterson, and Tim Curry.

<i>A Secret</i> French film

A Secret is a 2007 French film directed and written by Claude Miller. The screenplay was based on the 2004 novel by Philippe Grimbert.

<i>Luther</i> (TV series) British crime drama television series

Luther is a British psychological crime thriller television series starring Idris Elba as DCI John Luther and Ruth Wilson as Alice Morgan, written by Neil Cross. The detective Luther must make cases against criminals while the murderer Morgan has a complicated relationship with him. The first series is composed of six episodes which ran in May and June 2010. A second series of four episodes aired on BBC One in June and July 2011, and a third was commissioned in 2012 composed of four episodes which aired in July 2013. A two-episode fourth series was broadcast in December 2015, and a fifth series of four episodes premiered on 1 January 2019. BBC Studios handled distribution for the TV series.

<i>Safe Haven</i> (film) 2013 American romantic drama film

Safe Haven is a 2013 American romantic drama fantasy thriller film starring Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel and Cobie Smulders. The film marks the final film role for actor Red West. It was released theatrically in North America on February 14, 2013. The film was directed by Lasse Hallström, and is an adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' 2010 novel of the same name. The film was originally set for a February 8 release.

<i>Game of Silence</i> (American TV series) American TV series or program

Game of Silence is an American crime drama television series based on the Turkish series Suskunlar which is based on the true story of children who were sentenced in absentia to nine years in prison on the charge of stealing a baklava car in Gaziantep in 1997.

References

  1. ↑ "The Big Bang". Rotten Tomatoes.
  2. ↑ "The Big Bang". Indie Wire. 13 May 2011.
  3. ↑ William Marlowe
  4. ↑ "The Big Bang". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  5. ↑ "The Big Bang Reviews". Metacritic . Fandom . Retrieved June 21, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.