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Is it a good movie if there’s only one outstanding scene? I say yes. I dare say the super bowl scene in Focus is the best gambling scene I’ve ever seen in my life. Casino Royale is an awesome movie but anybody who understands a modicum of poker can see through all the bullshit every time Bond gambles. Other examples of fun gambling scenes include the full tilt scene in “Molly’s Game”, Paul Newman’s card trick in “The Sting”, Justin Timberlake gambling his life in “In Time”, cheater’s justice in “Casino”, and pretty much all of “California Split” and “Mississippi Grind”. When I rewatch these movies I am waiting for that one scene and eventually a steady, inevitable decline follows right after. The build up right before could be like a nice butternut squash soup that eases your way into a Filet Mignon. Or it can be like the water planet from Interstellar where the waves look like steady mountains but in a matter seconds, bang! Either way I think it’s absolutely necessary to admit that the percentage of movies that have that “apex scene” is very low.

So, Focus is a good movie. Will Smith and Margot Robbie, Nicky and Jess respectively, play beautiful, well-dressed thieves who have figured out an easy way to make a hard living. The stupidity of the movie is casting these actors who look like supermodels in an occupation that requires inconspicuity. Every scene leading up to the super bowl scene is ridiculous. The race car heist after the pinnacle scene is idiotic. But who cares man? Let’s talk about the entrée. BD Wong’s character Liyuan Tse, the playful but degenerate gambler and whale, plays the most interesting mark since Robert Shaw from “The Sting”. Smith is convincing in faking a complete meltdown to accomplish his ploy while Robbie is brilliant at acting like the confused girlfriend who delivers the final blow. The reveal and explanation of the gambit is extremely entertaining and is the cherry on top of a rich sundae.

Pause…. Insert segway cause I’m not sure how to transition to the next rant.

Everybody has an absolute boner for M Night Shyamalan but is “The Sixth Sense” really entertaining without the final scene? “Old” is a tough sit and leads to a lot of yawns before the final disclosure. How about “The Village” …. Actually, I can do this all day. Not every movie is “Fight Club” or “The Usual Suspects” in which the audience is enamored by a prodigal director crafting every scene to keep the audience at bay. I understand “Focus” isn’t “Fight Club”, but let’s get our foot out of our asses and appreciate it for what it is. A good movie with a banger of a scene that’s definitely worth a watch.