Bobby De Niro - still searching for decent dialogue

Big actors means a big movie. Don't you believe it.

Nigel Bell

What a disappointment. The trailers to The Score promise so much yet the actual film delivers little, other than predictability.

With three generations of leading Hollywood actor - Brando, De Niro and Norton - you'd expect much more.

If it's any consolation, the film ends better than it begins.

Indeed at the start the script is so rotten Brando and De Niro almost seem to be holding back the laughter. "We're being paid to say this rubbish."

The story is your basic heist plot. Nick Wells (De Niro) is a world weary safecracker, careful to only do jobs away from his home turf of Montreal.

There's a decent film here somewhere, I've just got to pull it out

But when Brando suggests a big pay-day on his doorstep, the usually calculating Wells is persuaded to play ball and team up with hotshot Jack, who's cased the local customs house thanks to his acting skills as mentally disabled Brian.

Simple enough, but it takes an eternity to actually get to the point of the pair carrying out the raid for a jewel encrusted French coronation sceptre.

The robbery is actually well staged but you've telegraphed the twist in the tale from the moment you bought your cinema ticket.

Apart from the actual robbery, there's one other significant scene where our anti-heroes are obtaining security codes from dubious employees in the middle of a public park.

Oh and Montreal comes across as a nice place to visit.

What are yer complaining about. You can hear what I say can't you?

Other than that this film is slow in the extreme (it could have been trimmed by at least 30 minutes), for something that should exude tension, there's hardly any and worst of all, the majority of the characters are surplus to requirements.

Angela Bassett plays De Niro's love interest. She is a token woman and has no bearing on the plot.

Even Brando is superfluous as the fence. He adds little, other than to twist De Niro's arm into carrying out the crime.

No, The Score is based centrally around De Niro vs the Edward Norton character. The pair act well with Norton stealing the honours.

Director Frank Oz is well known from his association with the Muppets. As Waldorf and Statler might have said "What was the best part of the film?" "The closing credits." Cue applause and laughter.