Wesley Snipes Movie:

Editorial Review:
Lurid thrillers don't get much more shameless than this movie, in which Robert De Niro plays a pathological baseball fan whose obsession is focused on a San Francisco Giants all-star outfielder (Wesley Snipes). While the newly signed baseball star is having trouble getting his favorite uniform number from a competitive teammate (Benicio Del Toro), De Niro is having career troubles at the knife company his father founded, and you can bet that his proximity to high-quality stainless-steel blades will be a factor in the suspenseful plot. Recycling parts of his maniacal roles in Taxi Driver, The King of Comedy, and Cape Fear, De Niro takes his idolatry to violent extremes, eliminating any obstacle to Snipes's stardom until the baseball hero is forced to confront his most terrifying devotee. Directed with brutal excess and souped-up style by Tony Scott (Top Gun, Crimson Tide), this manipulative nail-biter pulls all the right strings in predictable fashion, but it does have moments that are effectively intense. --Jeff Shannon

The Fan [Region 2] Reviews:
A film with many expectations to fulfill!
2009-04-04 - Having watched most of Robert De Niro's famed films since his beginnings ("Greetings" and "Mean streets"), along his countless artistic collaborations with his preferred director, Martin Scorsesse, I would not dare myself to qualify this film as notable. De Niro's most remarkable performances were focused through the seventies (Godfather II, Taxi driver, Deer hunter), eighties ( Ragging bull, Once upon a time in America, Angel heart, The mission, Untouchables and his genial cameo on Brazil) until the early nineties (Goodfellas and his most emblematic achievement until this date -at least to me- Awakenings). But since 1993, (when he makes his debut as director) De Niro (like Gene Hackman) seemed to have been abandoned by the supreme Dionysian muse and he has been repeated himself over and over again. Since "Cape fear", to be exact De Niro doesn't surprise me with his "inner fire" a similar bitter taste in this case, where his role as best actor of his generation is absolutely absent in this case.

A good start with a very dramatic premise, that deserved a major treatment, was obscured by a languorous script with serious dramatic fissures.

On the other hand, Tony Scott is miles away from his three best achievemnts of the past "Top Gun", "The hunger" and "True romance."



Depressing thriller/pseudo-character study
2008-12-23 - It might say something about me that I'm not bothered too much by heavy screen violence, but what does bother me is the naked exposure of a tortured and twisted human being (films such as "Psycho", "Don't Go in the House", "Maniac", etc. -- which oftentimes DO feature heavy violence as well, but it's the psychological/personal display that disturbs me, not the violence).

One such individual is Gil Renaul, the crazed-fan/psycho-stalker that Robert DeNiro excellently portrays in "The Fan". When Bobby Rayburn (Wesley Snipes), star player of Renault's beloved San Franscisco Giants. goes into a huge slump and has problems of his own, Renault steps in and tries to take things into his own hands, kidnapping/killing/harassing all the way. There's little more that can be gone into without spoiling the movie, though it's easily predictable given the predictability of the plot.

DeNiro's performance gets under your skin and is incredibly hard to watch; he truly convinces you that Gil is a complete sociopath through and through and as he gets more and more intense and more deranged and violent as the movie goes on, so his performance becomes all the more disturbing, uncomfortable, and hard to watch (but in a good way). Overall the film is decent but nothing exceptional, but recommended if you like these sorts of things.

A thriller that showcases a true psychotic
2008-09-30 - Gil Renard (Robert De Niro) isn't a lucky man. His separation from his wife is hostile, his business of selling knives is not going well, and he doesn't feel listened to. His only release is sports, watching and cheering for his favorite player, Bobby Rayburn (Wesley Snipes).

Bobby Rayburn, a 40 million dollar player, has troubles of his own as he falls into a slump, knowing his career is winding down as fellow player Juan Primo's (Benico Del Toro) star is rising. Primo now wears the "sacred" number 11 jersey. Rooting Bobby on every step of the way is manager Manny (John Leguizamo).

As Gil slides further down into the depths, he leans more and more on the game, forming an abnormal obsession with Bobby. With a restraining order taken out by his ex-wife, keeping him away from his son, and the loss of even his lowly job as knife salesman, how far will Gil finally lose himself in his fixation on Bobby Rayburn?

I tend to avoid movies that have even a dribble of sports in them, but I'm sure glad I tossed that rule aside for 'The Fan'. It's not about sports, its about an irrational fanatic. De Niro plays the psychotic fan so well, it could very well be his best performance yet. Snipes, Del Toro, and Leguizamo are fantastic, joined by the beautiful and talented Ellen Barkin as reporter Jewel Stern. The acting is superb and the tension is like a tight wire strung across your stomach. Adding to the film is the music of Nine Inch Nails during Gil's more psychotic episodes, complimenting the scenes with their grinding music and lyrics of alienation.

'The Fan' is a tense thriller that's not to be missed. Definitely worth a purchase. Enjoy!


Who's Bendix... I Get It! William Bendix, Right.
2008-03-30 - Bobby's agent says "Don't you get it, it's William #@! Bendix!
The actor from flatbush that gets billing over the actor Anthony Quinn.
Benicio Del Toro should have gotten a better credit instead of this deranged fan of this film with deniro.
Guadalcanal Diary is a excellent film giving tribute to our latin american fighting soldiers who have served our country! God bless you all



The Fan
2008-03-24 - I think that this Movie The Fan show why Robert De Niro is probably one of our better actors today.