Nicely acted, the movie Crypto delivers a different kind of crime drama that takes you into cyber dealings while setting you up for a thriller. Nicely acted by Beau Knap, it’s his first starring role and it’s much deserved. The actor has 33 credits to his name and this drama should bump him up in the actor list. The story gets compelling as we find the main character dealing with what he has uncovered along with facing his family from which he has been estranged.
Up and coming bank associate Martin Duran (Beau Knapp), who has been rising to the top of the food chain, has been called in front of the Board of Directors of OmniBank of New York after turning in a report that’s less than adequate. It’s not so much about the report, but that he gets blindsided by Robin (Jill Hennessy) his boss who heads up the compliance department. Embarrassed, but liked very much by Robin, she saves his job by sending him to a satellite office in the small town of Elba, New York.
It’s his home town and to add insult to injury, he’s been estranged from his father Martin, Sr. (Kurt Russell) and his brother Caleb (Luke Hemsworth) for many years following his mother’s death from an illness. But, as luck would have it, he runs into a school friend Earl (Jeremie Harris) who welcomes him back to town. Earl, being a computer whiz, can hack into most anything on the internet and he impresses Martin with his knowledge of internet currency.
At the local office of Omni, he finds the going slow and slower while seething about his error with the home office. One day while going through the records at the Elba office he discovers a problem that he takes to Earl. When it smells of money laundering, he starts an unauthorized investigation that leads to a trail that puts himself and others around him in danger.
Fledgling director John Stalberg, Jr. does a good job of developing the story and introducing characters as it rolls along. He weaves his tale that includes a lead for Martin to investigate a local art gallery, finding a love interest, and connecting with his father and PSTD disabled brother at the farm. Stalberg does a very good job laying out the story, making it intriguing and it’s a twisty mystery as well.
It was nice seeing Luke Hemsworth and Kurt Russell in the film as they give their usual best to their roles. I think you will get a thrill or two from Luke’s ex-military character Caleb who can get mighty upset at the perpetrators in the film. Russell’s farmer father Martin Sr. even turns up the heat when he falls in the hands of the Russian money laundering Mafia. Russell’s recent best acting gigs were his excellent performances in Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight (2015) as John Ruth, the cantankerous bounty hunter and Mr. Nobody in F. Gary Gray’s The Fate of the Furious (2017).
BONUS FEATURES:
“Commentary with Director John Stalberg, Jr. and co-writers David Grigerio and Carlyle Eubank” After watching the film, if you are interested in the technical end of filmmaking, just turn this on and sit back from some interesting things you didn’t know about making a movie.
“Creating Crypto” Takes you to the set of Crypto where filmmakers talk about the plot using selected scenes. It includes interviews with the director, writer, producers, and some of the actors.
Crypto has been rated R for language throughout, some violence, sexuality and drug use. The film is now available on Blu-ray, DVD, Digital HD and may still be available on VOD.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A good crime drama for home or on-the-go viewing. (Blu-ray 3.5 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Beau Knapp, Jeremie Harris, Kurt Russwell, Luke Hemsworth, Alexis Bledel, Vincent Kartheiser, Jill Hennessy,
Directed by: John Stalberg, Jr.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
MPAA Rating: R for language throughout, some violence, sexuality, drug use
Running Time: 1 hr. 42 min.
Distributed by: Lionsgate Films
Original VOD and select theaters on: April 12, 2019
Video Release Date: June 18, 2019
Language: English (changeable to French)
Reviewed Format: Blu-ray
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Video: 1080p HD, 16×9 Aspect Ratio 2.66:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 disc plus Digital HD code
Distributed by: Lionsgate
Released on: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital HD
