Murder Syndicate

Right, well it should come as no surprise that I wasn't really harboring much of any expectations to the 2023 thriller "Murder Syndicate" from writer and director Michael Matteo Rossi, as I sat down to watch it. In fact, I had never even heard about the movie prior to sitting down and watching it. But reading the movie's synopsis, and seeing who was on the cast list, I didn't get any hopes up.

And I managed to endure a staggering 27 minutes of the ordeal that is "Murder Syndicate". First of all, the movie is labeled as a thriller. Nothing thrilling or exciting about the movie at all. The script and storyline was bland, boring and rather pointless, as were the character gallery.

It takes a lot from a movie to make me give up on it and never to return to it a second time. And that is what writer and director Michael Matteo Rossi managed to pull off here.

But the icing on the cake was the dialogue. Wow, just wow. The dialogue in "Murder Syndicate" felt like it was written by a pre-teenager whom have been watching one too many Ghetto crime action movies. The level of writing for the dialogue in the movie was infantile and laughably bad. And it was the straw that made me give up on watching movie, though the lack of an interesting script and characters definitely also had their share of influence on that decision.

The acting performances in "Murder Syndicate" were sluggish and amateurish at best. So you're not in for an evening of Shakespearian theater here. Not that I was expecting that, given the 'talents' on the cast list.

I have zero intentions of returning to attempt finish watching "Murder Syndicate". Everything about the movie just failed to entertain me. So writer and director Michael Matteo Rossi dropped the ball.

My rating of "Murder Syndicate" lands on a one out of ten stars.

If you can think of the worst film you've ever seen, this one is so much worse, that if you can actually finish watching it until the end, you get to pick a prize from the top shelf.

How can producer, writer and director Michael Matteo Rossi with so many filmmaking credits to his name come up with such nonsense is mind boggling. There is absolutely zero redeeming qualities in this mess. The slow pacing and painfully long dragged out 99 minutes has the worst story you can dream up. The acting was phony, forced and so unnatural, you will be on the floor laughing. The dialogue is even worse. Any action scenes are too poorly filmed and choreographed, you will shake your head at how bad they are.

When I say a fifth grade drama class can do way better - writing, acting, directing, and every other aspect that goes into making a film, I'm not kidding. This was so bad, I can't even suggest Rossi going to film school, because after so many attempts and you still do it this bad, it's time to take up a new hobby. This was the absolutely worst film I have ever seen.

Foremost the title is misleading. 'Murder Syndicate' is more of a family business - albeit crime. Having said that, this slow-paced movie does give its key moments once in a while. Crime thrillers have always fascinated the audience and a gripping story, a good fast-paced narrative and an endearing performance in a crime thriller are what the audience looks out for in such a film.

About Murder Syndicate, the story is of three siblings - and their mother Isa aided by her younger boyfriend Zane and the crime syndicate they run. When Isa falls ill during one of their operations and subsequently is asked to rest, the squabble begins between the siblings and Zane to control the syndicate in the absence of Isa at its helm.

Timothy Haug as the younger son Jonah stands out with his gritty performance and gets going in almost all the scenes and so does Steven Martini (as Zane) as the scheming evil boyfriend. Diane Robin as Isa, Mark Justice as her elder son, and Cathy Baron as Sonya give their best but don't raise the bar where their acting prowess is concerned. Nonetheless, the trio has done a good job.

For me Haug has been outstanding for bringing out the best in him as an actor be it in the emotional scenes or as an angry young man. From being naïve and almost getting manipulated to standing strong for a confrontation, he emotes it all effortlessly.

Michael Rossi has written a great crime story (reminiscent of the 80s gangster films) and has brought out the best in his cast and crew despite certain shortcomings. The movie is a great one-time watch, especially for the lead actors Haug and Martini duly supported by the others.

If only the background score and the action sequences were better choreographed, the end result would have been a couple of notchs higher.