Easy Money: Hard to Kill Review
By David Kempler
It's Not That Hard to Kill
Babak Najafi's "Easy Money: Hard to Kill" is a valiant attempt to put together a gangster film with multiple stories running simultaneously that finally intertwine in the last act. While we live within any one of the stories it works. When a quick jump is made to another story it feels jarring and almost makes you dizzy.
This film is the second part of a trilogy and because I did not see part one, I am not entirely certain that seeing the first part would enhance the experience of seeing part two, but that should not matter, because each part must stand on its own and this is the only part we have to work with.
The center of it all is JW (Joel Kinnaman), who is currently in jail for some sort of serious crime. While in jail he has developed software that will make him a very rich man. His partner outside of jail, who did nothing in terms of developing the software, is selling the product to a well-to-do buyer. Because this is a story that has criminals everywhere, it is clear to see that this is not going to turn out well for JW.
When JW gets a leave for good behavior, he goes to see his partner, but finds out that his partner has double-crossed him. He is justifiably unhappy with this news. Meanwhile, there are a few other groups of criminals all involved in trying to acquire drugs, money, or both. We have Swedish, Serbian, and Spanish criminals all competing for capturing the big prizes. It's a hodgepodge of small-time and big-time thieves crossing each other's paths. There is one very short interlude where a form of romance is in the air between a prostitute and a lowlife, but it doesn't look like they are destined for the house and the white picket fence.
"Easy Money: Hard to Kill" is extremely frustrating. Just when a story gets cooking, Najafi takes us into another group of criminals, and the buildup of tensions begins anew. After the fourth or fifth time of jumping around, you can't help but feel you have been slapped around enough to make your ears ring. The frustrating part is that there might be a couple of good movies here that ultimately are interfering with each other. Contrary to its title, the money is hard to acquire here and the killing is easy as can be.
