Played

mediocre movie
It's a story about a small time thief being fingered by the crooked cop who arranged the deal. He does the time and keeps his mouth shut. When he gets out, he ends up in LA to take care of business. Whoops, he has trusted the wrong people in his plans for revenge. I kept watching this movie hoping it would get better, it never did. As another reviewer already noted, the best bits were Val Kilmer on screen. Okay, so five minutes were great and rest was just there. For a caper movie, it had no real edge of your seat moments. With all the great actors (Gabriel Byrne, Patrick Bergin, etc.), I was expecting a great film but it never delivered. I recommend watching Circus or The Criminal for a great UK caper flick, not this one. Avoid it at all costs.

On the fence
I wanted to like this one. Great cast. Love UK gangster flicks. Intrigued by the improv/lack of script but, ultimately was not moved by Mick Rossi. The big names are good but the story fizzles a bit. Still, it's an experiment worthy of watching for students of film.

Good actors in an awful movie
The cast is quite good, and includes Gabriel Byrne, Vinnie Jones (Snatch), Anthony LaPaglia, Val Kilmer, Patsy Kensit, Bruno Kirby, and others, but even they can't save a movie that is poorly written and directed.
It felt quite formulaic, and is not in the same league as films like Snatch, Heist, Usual Suspects, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, etc.
Fortunately I saw it on TV and didn't spend any money on it. It wasn't so bad that I turned it off, but it's far from being a good movie. I finished watching since I did like some of the actors (if not always the acting).
The movie felt like a school project that could have been polished into a decent film.
Some movies are meant to be watched again and again (e.g., The Godfather, Pulp Fiction, The Usual Suspects, etc.). In the case of Played, once is more than enough. 2-stars is a generous rating.

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