Now it’s time for a pretty fun noir title. It’s definitely got its share of intrigue, drama, and emotional beats. So on the whole it’s really the definition of being an all around complete title. I tend to enjoy heist films like this that have a lot of story and planning going on in the background. You can bet that none of the characters can afford to let their guards down for even a moment or it’s all over.

The movie starts by introducing us to Doc who has finally left jail. He was there for a long time but now he is free to terrorize the world once more. He doesn’t do this with violence though, instead he goes and uses his wits. So he’s got a full proof plan to rob a bank and make 500K but he needs a team to do this and someone to come up with the funds. He meets up with a guy called Cobby who knows a rich guy named Alonzo. Alonzo says he can handle the money part but Doc doesn’t trust him. So Doc asks Dix, to keep an eye out as he’s the only one that can really be trusted. Dix is the strong man of the group and assures Doc that nobody will be messing with his future money. Now it’s time for the crew to try and strike it rich, but do they have what it takes?

In a lot of ways this might be the easiest heist for a heist film. I wouldn’t say the villains ever have any real resistance. For the most part they are really only having to worry about each other which is definitely one of the risks of being a common crook like that. They don’t exactly have the strongest set of morals and ethics right? So it’s not surprising when everything begins to crumble around them. In fact, you could even argue that it’s probably expected. They’ve all got issues after all.

Alonzo is actually dirt poor and right now he’s cheating on his wife with someone else. The guy is morally bankrupt and desperate which is a really dangerous combination. When you’ve got both of those things lined up, it definitely means that he can’t be trusted. Obviously I have no real sympathy for the guy. I mean all of these villains are crooks but this guy is definitely the worst of the bunch. He’s confident but doesn’t really have any skill of his own which is why he’s broke.

Then we have Cobby who talks a good game but only when the others have their backs turned. This guy isn’t confident in the slightest and definitely folds when the pressure is on. It was fun to see the crooked cop show up and take him out. It was interesting the way the movie presented the cop. Yes, he turned to the dark side for money and definitely made the wrong choices but ultimately he went straight once enough heat was on him. The whole ending has a speech about this as there may be a few bad cops around but the majority are still out on the beat stopping crooks every day. I thought it was an effective illustration on scale there. This cop wasn’t out murdering anybody either, he was basically not taking a law that he disagreed with all that seriously.

Still a bad thing without a doubt, yet a cut different than the hardened criminals all around him. As for Doc, I actually liked him for most of the movie. He kept his cool and always had a plan no matter what was coming up. This was a guy who could not be cornered too easily and had experience. It’s why his ending makes no real sense. I just don’t get the logic here at all of how he would take such a risk. Surely he would have the self control to wait to do anything that might delay him until he was out of the state? It all just felt like a big stretch. The film was probably going for some kind of irony or message but I wasn’t buying it. It was a weak way to get him out of there.

Then you have Dix who in a way felt like the main character. He’s a very prideful guy who takes no disrespect from anybody. He’s also honorable in his own way. The guy made a lot of bad choices and is absolutely a villain yet he doesn’t have a lot of malice like the others. He has nightmares about his past with the horses and is definitely going crazy but you feel like with the right circumstances he could be okay. Ultimately these were not the right circumstances but he did have a great shootout with Bob.

That’s probably the best scene in the film as the film was building up to the big fight between villains for a while. So seeing them all get to confront each other at the end was some good stuff. It’s a quick blink and you miss it kind of scene but when the characters have guns, that only makes sense. It’s not like these guys are bulletproof or anything like that after all. I also liked Bob. His screentime may have been a lot lower than the other characters but he made for a very imposing villain when he did show up.

I’d say one of the subtle messages here though is how the supporting cast all lost out due to the villain’s actions. The wife of Alonzo is certainly in for a rough time with her husband being taken out. The young girlfriend is also out of luck although she wasn’t very smart and was basically complicit so I don’t feel too bad for her. Then you have Dix’s girlfriend who is also going to be in a rough spot. Basically villains get the direct repercussions and anyone associated with them will fall as well. You can be sad about it without regretting it though. The villains absolutely did need to be stopped and the cops really did their job here.

The writing is strong and the pacing is good. This is the classic kind of noir title that really does the genre justice. I suppose if it’s not officially considered a noir then I may be giving it the wrong credit but the fact remains that this was good stuff. The film properly developed the characters and really got things moving. I didn’t even mind that the heist itself was fairly easy because it’s an interesting change of pace.

Overall, The Asphalt Jungle is a pretty good movie. It definitely had a solid climax with a lot of tension even if the way the mastermind goes down was definitely underwhelming to the highest degree. It just felt so out of character. I suppose anyone can have a vice but to go down like that are all of the build up and planning? I’ve never really seen anything like it, that was absolutely crazy. So you should check out this film either way and see what you think about how the ringleader is taken care of.

Overall 7/10