ifet All these talented actors, what a huge waste! Billy Crudup I like, the wonderful Marion Cotillard, the English Clive Owen, Zoe Saldana looks stunning, James Caan in a cameo role... even the interesting Dutch or Belgian newcomer Mathias Schoenaerts who was great in the recent Far from the Madding Crowd, honestly there is not a single bad actor here... simply let down by a depressing low-grade storyline about low-grade criminal life... Clive, you can do so much better than this. The French director probably thought he could do as well as an American writer with this genre but unfortunately he failed. Just write another interesting and pleasant story with decent dialogue for all these stars and I would be happy so see them all in another movie... I bought this DVD cheaply looking at the star lineup, thinking I had got a deal... no way. I should take it back for a refund... Good actors cannot achieve instant fame with a bad story and script, I am sorry to say and I was greatly disappointed

Tss5078 Shot in a 1970s style, Blood Ties certainly has the right look. The film features a great cast, that made me desperately want to see it, but the problem is that it's a very common tale and it moves along at a snails pace. Even with a story that's been done over and over again, Blood Ties still could have been something special, because of it's cast, but that didn't happen simply because it is one of the most predictable films I've seen all year. The film features two brothers, Chris (Clive Owen) a career criminal, just released from prison, and Frank (Billy Crudup) a New York City Detective, who tries to help Chris get back on his feet. Didn't I see this movie in 2007 when it was called We Own The Night? That film has the exact same tagline, but fortunately wasn't as predictable. Billy Crudup stars as the good brother and was the only interesting character in the film, surprising considering the film features two of my favorite actors, James Caan and Charlie Tahan. Unfortunately neither of them have a particular big or interesting role, as everything centers around these two brothers. The con is played by Clive Owen, who honestly seemed like he didn't want anything to do with this role. He is emotionless, uneven, and every time he has any kind of long dialogue, I thought I was going to fall asleep. The bottom line, one's a cop, the others a con, I wonder what's going to happen? What happens is exactly what you think is going to happen, so why even bother to watching this extreme disappointment?

Guy BLOOD TIES is a French attempt at those classic 70s NYC crime stories. The concept is an oldie but a goodie - two brothers on opposite sides of the law - but it never convinces. It has thriller elements - a police raid, an armoured car robbery and a car chase - but they're badly shot and derivative of better films. It splurges on the drama instead but only ends up with shouting and swearing. It doesn't help that the multi-national cast means lots of weird accents, or that the two leads are a pair of milk-sops. The only moment it comes alive is when James Caan gets angry at his sons during Thanksgiving; when he swears, you believe him. Unfortunately he's then consigned to the supporting cast again as the story heads towards its sorta-redemptive ending as one brother sacrifices himself for the other. The best 70s crime films had grit, soul and energy but this is a flaccid retread and at over two hours (half-an-hour longer than the French film it's based on) it's a real yawn.

kosmasp One of the toughest things is to feel sympathy for a criminal, even if played by Clive Owen. Still there is more to him than just violence and breaking the law. And there is always the "how it all began". The family ties that are mentioned in the title are strong, but are not helping always. The casting of good actors is helping the movie though. James Caan is always a joy.One thing that surprised me was the fact that the movie tells you it is not based on a real story. I guess the way it is made, you could be excused to think this could have happened (or something similar to this) ... and maybe it did. Whatever the case, this is not an instant classic, but it's still more than a decent movie. The setting is good, the script works and there is a nice flow to it