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3000 Miles to Graceland

Starring: Kevin Costner, Kurt Russell
Director: Demian Lichtenstein
Genre: Action
Year: 2001
Rating: 1 / 5

What are Christian Slater, David Arquette, Howie Long, and Ice-T all doing in the same movie?! Worse still, what are they doing supporting Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell?! As I watched this list of B-movie "stars" scroll across the screen prior to 3000 Miles to Graceland, I winced at the possibilities. Possibly, this movie would be able to use all of these second-rate actors to generate an entertaining diversion. More likely, the movie would be a gargantuan waste of film, possibly soiling careers in the process. Sadly, 3000 Miles to Graceland fits into the latter category, helping to explain the sub-$20 million gross on a $60 million budget.

Michael (Kurt Russell) and Murphy (Kevin Costner) have rounded up a gang of hoodlums to pull off a very unique crime. These five individuals, all dressed like Elvis, are planning to rob a Las Vegas casino, armed with heavy firepower and little else. The band is able to acquire the money with little difficulty, but escaping is not as simple. A bloodbath ensues, with nearly every security guard on the premises falling to raining gunfire. After the group has made away with the loot, things get no easier, as tensions begin to mount. No one trusts anyone else, with double-crosses being the order of business, until only Michael and Murphy are left to wrestle for power and $3 million in cash.

3000 Miles to Graceland has quite a few problems, but the chief one may be the lack of a coherent plot. Scratch that - this film has nothing resembling a plot. Director Demian Lichtenstein takes us from one ultra-violent orgy to another, offering little in the way of substance. The casino heist, which appears to be the main thrust of the film, is not clever nor creative, but, rather, is merely an excuse for the bandits to fire their weapons indiscriminately. Bodies fall left and right, as these career criminals, with barely a conscience among them, waste innocent people as well as their foes. The final sequence, capped by the appearance of Ice-T, is just as excessive, featuring a duel between an horrendously inept SWAT team and three remaining hoods.

3000 Miles to Graceland is a film best forgotten, a thought a number of these actors may have already had. Kevin Costner continues his alarming career tailspin, further distancing himself from the acclaim he received during the 1980s. Kurt Russell, never really an A-list star to begin with, slides through relatively unscathed, able to blame much of his character's flaws on a poor script. Courtney Cox, who has yet to prove herself a capable movie actress, is the stereotypical love interest here, offering little of note and seeming to be borderline pathetic by the film's conclusion. Only Thomas Haden Church (Wings) seems at home here, relaxed in the sort of movie trash that has paid the bills since his TV days. 3000 Miles to Graceland sounds like a long way to go, and, believe me, it is one painful road trip.

Cast:

Certification: Rated R for violence and language.
Running Time: 125 minutes.

Additional Info: Internet Movie Database
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