Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
A DEA agent provides former Marine Tim Kearney with a way out of his prison sentence: impersonate Bobby Z, a recently deceased drug dealer, in a hostage switch with a crime lord. When the negotiations go awry, Kearney flees, with Z's son in tow.
The Death and Life of Bobby Z is a fairly generic crime thriller that never quite rises above its B-movie trappings. The premise of impersonating a deceased drug lord has some inherent intrigue, but the script executes it in a formulaic, predictable way with double-crosses that feel telegraphed and character motivations that remain thin. Paul Walker leads a competent but unremarkable cast — performances are serviceable without being memorable. The cinematography is functional, capturing the sun-baked Southern California and Baja California settings adequately but without any distinctive visual flair. The film offers little that distinguishes it from dozens of similar crime thrillers of the era, recycling familiar genre beats without a strong enough voice or execution to stand out. The ending resolves things neatly but without impact. Overall a passable mid-tier thriller that sits comfortably near its middling reputation.