From the opening scene, where we take sheer delight in seeing a tubby, long haired Liotta washed up on a Sydney shore like a beached whale, we clearly know what's ahead, and we patently know were not in for any masterpiece. A near death experience that has Liotta crashing through a Sydney pharmacy, in King's Cross, while late to rendezvous with his not so lucky mate, sees him paying for it three years later. Now, relocated, a reformed Liotta, finds his past catching up with him, in the form of embittered ex con (Purcell) who spent the past years in the slammer, as that unfortunate rendezvous resulted in a sting operation, so we can see why Purcell's quite peeved. From here, this movie, becomes a basic by the numbers situation drama, where an obsessed Purcell keeps reappearing in Liotta's life, after having him cornered in a convenience store hold up/set up candid camera and all. Liotta isn't going down easy. It's not the best timing with Liotta, close to proposing to his new love, Vanessa Gray, one of the better performers. She doesn't yet know of his criminal past, so we can see Liotta's peril, while he also has his parole officer (Andy "Wolf Creek" Mcphee) on his back. So the rooting begins for Liotta to overthrow this thorn in his side, as he finally breaks, where it's not going to be easy. I must say Bad Karma is colourfully entertaining, but it also has some bloody pathetic moments, and embarrassingly bad dialogue, especially towards the end that I almost couldn't believe I was hearing. It has some nice nubile bodied chicks in the raw too, one who gets a little too pokey with Purcell. I couldn't believe all the disfavour with Purcell's performance. I thought he was the best in the film. An older, overweight, haggard Liotta was quite good too, as we could sympathize a lot with him, as much wanting him to rid Purcell as him. Great aboriginal actor, by none the finest I've seen of his race, Aaron was very strong as Liotta's ex con mate, Bear. Like nearly everything filmed on the Gold Coast (though being a Sydney lover, I liked the early shots in the film) again here's a poor and forgettable effort, this one of a guy trying to go straight. Watch Bad Karma at the laughing expense of Liotta, as it is an entertainer, but as a movie, one of 2012's worst, the first half of the title truly describes it's merit. I did too like Liotta's girlfriend's pad.
Review of Bad Karma
