50 Cent (real name: Curtis Jackson) and Ryan Phillippe steal a shipment of diamonds from the mob, which means they're marked for reprisals. Local capo Bruce Willis offers Jackson a chance out. So does G*d.

It's a well shot crime drama with a religious air, as people keep talking to Jackson about G*d, including a priest without a dog collar and Willis. Clearly this movie is setting up to some denouement in which he will have the chance to commit a cardinal sin for which he will be barred from Heaven.

Although the camerawork in Michigan is pretty good, the color saturation of the print has been reduced to lend a foreboding air to the movie. The script is too obvious, and the handling makes its subtext the main text, with many of the characters reduced to obviously allegorical roles.

In Detroit, Sonny (50 Cent), Vincent Long (Ryan Phillippe) and Dave Hall (Brett Granstaff) are friends since high-school. They reunite to successfully heist 5 million dollars in diamonds in a daring operation. However, Sonny and Dave are betrayed by Vincent that shots them and steel the diamonds.

Sonny miraculously saves and seeks revenge against Vincent. Meanwhile the owner of the diamonds sends a hit-man to find Sonny and Vincent while the powerful mobster Biggs (Bruce Willis) forces Sonny to steal 2 million dollars from a Russian mafia. Sonny seeks out Vincent not only to revenge, but also to get rid off Biggs and his gangsters.

"Setup" is a disappointing film with a poor screenplay. Bruce Willis, Ryan Phillippe and James Remar have minor participations and the character of 50 Cent is not well developed with an ambiguous personality. The director Mike Gunther makes another weak rip-off of Guy Ritchie's style and this comedy-action movie does not work. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Sem Lei" ("Without Law")

SETUP is a very cheap heist thriller shot in the wilds of Michigan. There are a lot of familiar actors on board but most just turn up to get the pay cheque and go again. The story feels half hearted and the greyed-out look works against it, giving it a cookie cutter feel. However, the film isn't quite as bad as I was fearing, and at least it's short and fast-paced, which means you won't really get bored about it.

The story is about the familiar fall-out among thieves that takes place early on. The heist scene is well shot and brings to mind HEAT in its depiction of a large-scale shoot-out, definitely the best part of the movie. However, 50 Cent is a poor choice for the lead and quite unlikeable, while Ryan Philippe is miscast for his part. Bruce Willis is prominently featured on the cover but gets little screen time other than to intone gruff dialogue in a room for ten minutes or so. Randy Couture has a very small role too. At least the action's okay, with a foot chase in the second half that really captivates.