“3000 Miles to Graceland” starts as a sort of “Ocean’s Eleven” meets “Reservoir Dogs,” when five desperados blast their way in and out of a Vegas casino dressed as Elvis impersonators to land $3.2 million. The heist is led by tough guy Murphy (Kevin Costner at his best) and the much nicer Mike (Kurt Russell), along with Christian Slater, David Arquette and Bokeem Woodbine. Everyone gets greedy, thus setting off a grab bag of double crosses and finally leading into a run out road chase to the Canadian border. Very cool, but then the film goes sour.
Its obvious soon after the lights go down and the first 20 minutes subside that Graceland is yet another studio-produced picture debut by a music video director. Its not just that Demian Lichtenstein exhausts every visual cliché, but he seems not to care much about film basics or character continuity. Graceland has some potential, though, with great action and twisted character development centered on Costner, who perfectly portrays Murphy, a sick and demented Elvis obsesser, pulling away from his usual typecast characters to deliver a great performance as a villain. The action sequences will stun action-goers, while bad-ass characters are continually brought into the film with the likes of football Hall of Famer Howie Long and rapper Ice-T playing destructive mercenaries.
The film is well thought out, but has no substance or appeal outside of its action genre. Those looking for a short and sweet movie with great action and visuals will not find it here, unless you sleep through the middle of the film. Over two hours long, “Graceland” kills those who are impatient with bad dialogue and sloppy acting, while the audience is cheering for more action, more guns and more Costner.
3.5 / 5 Stars
Starring: Kevin Costner, Kurt Russell, Courteney Cox Arquette, Christian Slater, David Arquette
Director: Demian Lichtenstein
