Suicide Kings poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Christopher Walken, Denis Leary, Henry Thomas, Sean Patrick Flanery, Jay Mohr ... see more see more... , Jeremy Sisto , Johnny Galecki , Laura San Giacomo , Laura Harris , Cliff De Young , Brad Garrett , Sean Whalen

Television director Peter O'Fallon made his feature film debut with this independent film that pays obvious homage to the style of Quentin Tarantino, with plenty of violence and funny, talkative hit m... read more read more...en. Suave gangster Charlie Barrett (Christopher Walken) meets four young men who have taken over his regular booth at a popular bistro. Charmed by the swaggering kids, he agrees to take a ride with them, but they give him a sedative and he awakens in a deserted mansion, taped to a chair with one of his fingers missing. One of his abductors, Avery (Henry Thomas), says that he has a sister who has been kidnapped and they need two million dollars to get her back, as well as a finger to exchange for her severed digit. Charlie phones his lawyer Marty (Cliff De Young), who calls a henchman, Lono (Denis Leary), who investigates the kidnappings and gives Charlie enough information to start playing each of his inexperienced abductors against the others. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

Flixster Users

71% liked it

49,094 ratings

Critics

34% liked it

29 critics

R, 1 hr. 46 min.

Directed by: Peter O'Fallon

Release Date: April 17, 1997

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: October 20, 1998

Get It:

Stats: 1,657 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

Suicide Kings Suicide Kings suicide kings
Upload a Photo | View All Suicide Kings Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (1,657)

  • cosmo313
    December 20, 2011
    cosmo313
    In the wake of Quentin Tarantino's massive success, many people tried to cash in on the formula, and the world was subjected to a slew of imitators, ripoffs, and clones. While this film is in that vein, it is one of the amiable and enjoyable, and has a bit of its own fun and slic... read morek entertainment to offer. It's just a shame that it has fallen by the wayside and has become seemingly all but forgotten,

    When his sister is kidnapped and held for a $2,000,000, and his dad isn't able to offer up the money, priviledged kid Avery and a group of his friends come up with the idea of doing a kidnapping of their own: the take retired mob figure Charlie Barrett hostage, hole up in their uptight friend Ira's parents's home while their away, and force Charlie to use his contacts to get the girl back. What they don't count on is the possibility of being in over their heads, especially when Charlie has his own ideas about what's going on.

    The set up is a decent one, and provides some great opportunities for a good cast to do their thing, and do it fairly decently. The film has crime and thriller elements, and a few scenes filled with well executed tension, but it's really more of a dark comedy. The main focus of the film is on the group of young guys as they try to coax Charlie into helping them, who begins to size them up, get inside their heads, and show them just how unprepared they are to deal with what they've gotten themselves into. Along the way we also check in on the girl's kidnappers from time to time, as well as follow the exploits of Charlie's lawyer who enlists the aid his client's bodyguard Lono- a short tempered hitman who travels all over New York trying to hunt down Charlie's captors.

    This is some fun stuff, and though it has shades of QT all over it, it's still quite enjoyable and entertaining. Veteran television director Peter O'Fallon made his feature film debut here, and it's not a bad job at all. A little rough around the edges maybe, but passable. Where this film really works though, is in the casting and the perforamnces. Christopher Walken shines as the captive Charlie, and his deadpan delivery filled with occasional menace makes for some priceless moments. It's really fun seeing him match wits with a group full of youngsters including Henry Thomas (little Elliott from E.T.) as Avery, a pre-Boondock Saints Sean Patrick Flanery, Jay Mohr, and Jeremy Sisto as Avery's friends and accomplices, a post-Roseanne but pre-Big Bang Theory Johnny Galecki as their neurotic friend Ira. Denis Leary shines as the anger prone thug Lono, and a fair amount of the film's humor is because of him alone.

    The film's got some neat ideas, and dialogue is pretty sharp, but it's not without its problems. The film's plot gets really twisty, turny, and complex, and becomes rather muddled, convoluted, and messy at times. It also feels a little self consciously hip, and it feels like the film is going out of it's way to be cool and it comes off as forced instead of natural. Also, I think the times when the film shifts focus away from Charlie and the youngsters could have been handled a lot batter, and maybe more could have been done with them.

    Overall though, this is a rather okay film. I've got a bit of a personal attachment to it as it played a role in my becoming the film buff I am today, so I can't be too hard on it, but even then, it's no masterwork or anything. It's just a shame that the film didn't get more attention. I mean, of all the films that tried to cash in on Qt's success, this is easily one of the better ones.
  • phubbs1
    July 3, 2011
    phubbs1
    Odd title but a decent mobster/thriller comedy with the man who has played a million mob bosses at the heart of the show as always. Without Walken this would probably have been very very average and not as amusing, Walken is so dead pan and shifty its eerie, I dunno how he does i... read moret but his gangster performances never get weak no matter how many he does or how repetitive they are.

    Rest of the cast are your average straight to DVD filler types alongside Leary who in the mid 90's was pretty popular and not bad as a hardass but at the same time a slightly mouthy, annoying and arrogant git too. The plot is actually quite good and serves all manner of good moments both tense and giggly as we build towards the predictable twist in the plot....just a matter of who to choose.
    Has some dark moments and plenty of gallows humour but quite a sad sombre ending.
  • TheGame90
    December 15, 2010
    TheGame90
    It was good. But...what more is it to it? You might like it (I'm not mentioning any names)...And you might say that I was sleeping...But I didn't miss a lot. It was nothing special. A good movie.

    ...And it should obviously be called "Kings of Diamond"
  • bbcfloridabound
    May 14, 2010
    bbcfloridabound
    This is a excellent film, Christopher Walken Plays a crime boss who is kidnapped for a ransom. Johnny Galecki who plays Ira did an outstanding job and ads all the comedy to the film. Its an enjoyable movie that?s hard to put into any category. The rookie gang of 5 take Walken fin... read moreger off and have him duct taped to a chair, mean while word comes to Walken that its an inside job so which one of the 5 are in on it. A real twisted ending, but I will not give it away you will have to see it. 4 stars.
  • SirPant
    September 28, 2009
    SirPant
    This is a great little crime drama that flew well below the radar on its release. Highly recommended!
  • DrZeek
    March 17, 2008
    DrZeek
    Charlie Barret: Guys, if I don't bleed to death pretty soon, I'm gonna die of boredom.

    3 things that make this work well.

    1. Chris Walken (of course)
    2. Unnecessary, yet hilarious banter between the young costars
    3. Dennis Leary in full asshole mode as a hitman.
    Good stuff.

    C... read morehristopher Walken stars as a mobster who is kidnapped by a bunch of rich kids with a plan of their own.

    One of these kids' girlfriend has been kidnapped, and so they want to use Walken's connections to hopefully find the kidnappers and meet their demands.

    This setup provides the opportunity for Walken to get under all of these characters skin. He is tied to a chair, with his finger cut off, but he still is able to use his verbose nature to figure things out for himself, and outwit his kidnappers.

    Meanwhile, Denis Leary is a hitman, going all over New York on his own misadventures looking for these rich kids to rescue his boss.

    The movie works for the three reasons I listed above, along with the fact that this is a very entertaining story full of dark humor, fine performances, and some decent twists.

    Lono: Can you guess what these boots are made out of? - Stingray.
    Charlie Barret: Your wearing fish boots?
  • FilmFanatik
    February 13, 2008
    FilmFanatik
    Truly underrated classic!
  • puffchunk
    September 24, 2007
    puffchunk
    Walken is amazing. THe rest of film needs some work.
  • dreamfaeries
    July 11, 2007
    dreamfaeries
    Laugh-out-loud funny and a surprise twist at the end. Fantastic.
  • allan913
    November 27, 2006
    allan913
    A razor sharp and wickedly funny suspense thriller. Packs plenty of twist and laughs. Christopher Walken is brilliant. Denise Leary is teriffic. Its the Usual suspects meets the Reservoir dogs. Plenty of fun to go around.

View All Suicide Kings Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jeffrey Westhoff
December 17, 2004
Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Rips right into its twisted plot and seldom slows. The movie is only 15 minutes old before one character says, 'This has gone too far.'

Luke Y. Thompson
March 26, 2004
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times

Christopher Walken is tied to a chair most of the movie, and he's the center of attention. If that's not a selling point, you and I will never agree on anything.

Carlo Cavagna
August 11, 2003
Carlo Cavagna, AboutFilm.com

This movie assembles all the indie-film-of-the-Nineties cliches: brainless criminals, a bad plan, lots of dialogue, and Christopher Walken.

Brian Mckay
March 20, 2003
Brian Mckay, eFilmCritic.com

A fairly average and predictable comedy-mystery, it is raised a notch by the likes of Walken, Denis Leary, and the supporting cast Full Review

Philip Martin
January 24, 2003
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

...it isn't that well-written and if you're accustomed to the genre it might even seem predictable. Full Review

Blake French
March 14, 2001
Blake French, NutzWorld

Some unpredictable twists, intense thematic moments, and strong performances, the movie does not provide quite enough to warrant a recommendation.

Dennis Schwartz
January 1, 2000
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Trying to figure out who the rat is, is enough of a story line for this film. Full Review

Widgett Walls
January 1, 2000
Widgett Walls, Needcoffee.com

The superfluous characters are almost as plentiful as the flashbacks. If someone can explain to me what Laura San Giacomo's purpose was in this film, I'll give them a dollar. Full Review

David Luty
January 1, 2000
David Luty, Film Journal International

A convoluted, senseless mess. Full Review

Joe Leydon
March 26, 2009
Joe Leydon, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • The Usual Suspects
    The Usual Suspects (80%)
  • The Boondock Saints
    The Boondock Saints (61%)
  • Pulp Fiction
    Pulp Fiction (57%)
  • Saving Private Ryan
    Saving Private Ryan (17%)

More Movies like Suicide Kings

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

Suicide Kings : Watch Free on TV

Suicide Kings Trivia

  • Who connects the following movies: True Romance, Pulp Fiction, Catch Me If You Can and Suicide Kings  Answer »
  • What was the real name of Charlie Barret (Christopher Walken) in Suicide Kings  Answer »
  • The Deer Hunter Joe Dirt The Dead Zone Suicide Kings Who am I?  Answer »
  • "Any body wants to hold hands with my dick, i insist they by me a drink first..." this is a quote from which movie?  Answer »
More Suicide Kings Trivia

Movie Quizzes

Create a Quiz |

All Quizzes

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add Suicide Kings to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

SexiVixxEN Skin by SexiVixxEN
14 Profiles
Add to Profile

More Skins