52 Pick-Up

This is a nasty, vicious little thriller, in which Roy Scheider outwits some slimy blackmailers. I guess it is competently made, but I found it rather distasteful to watch. It is unrelieved by humor or wit, the plot isn't clever enough, it's not especially suspenseful, and the violence is done in a sort of dreary, casual way that bothered me. Also, the stakes are too low. Wno would really go to all that effort for only 52000 in this day and age. Lastly, I didn't like Scheider's character too much so it was hard to root for him. skip it. I think mean-spirited is the phrase I was groping for. (I guess Elmore Leonard is easier to read than to watch.)