Do not see Domino if you are prone to motion sickness.
The camera cuts are so frantic, you may start to feel a queasiness that has nothing to do with your $7 Coke. If The Blair Witch Project made you nauseous, Domino will, too.
Another warning: Domino is not the life story of singer Van Morrison, who had a catchy hit song of the same name. We imagine ol' Van has been in the odd brawl, but chances are it was nothing close to the violence exhibited in this uber-stylish effort from director Tony Scott.
Based on a real person (who died of a drug overdose last June) but not real events, Domino takes you into a dark world of low-life bounty hunters tracking down lower-life crooks. And what better person to be your tour guide than doe-eyed 20-year-old British actress Keira Knightley.
What, were both Olsen twins booked?
Even when the makeup staff wants Knightley to look bad, she looks good. The October issue of Esquire magazine -- just browsing, not buying, folks -- has a cover shot of Knightley with the caption, "What cameras were made for." It's tough to argue with that assessment, and we aren't talking only about Knightley's bra-and-panties lap-dance sequence, or her brief topless love-making scene late in the flick.
Despite the handicap of being too good-looking for this role, Knightley actually does an acceptable job. When she's quiet and brooding, she's convincing. Only when she raises her voice does she resemble a ticked-off Tinkerbell.
On the whole, however, this movie is like a hyperactive child: Sometimes it's funny, but you have no idea what it's thinking.
Knightley's character teams up with Mickey Rourke, Edgar Ramirez and Rizwan Abbasi. A bunch of familiar faces are trotted out -- Christopher Walken, Mena Suvari, Dabney Coleman, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green, Delroy Lindo, Macy Gray, Lucy Liu and Tom Waits -- in supporting roles of varying importance.
The storyline is indecipherable. It gets so confusing that on-screen charts are used to connect the dots. As a wise colleague put it, if an action movie needs to be explained, it's in trouble.
There's one extended scene in which a yappy character portrayed by Mo'Nique appears on the Jerry Springer show to champion greater recognition for mixed races such as "black-tino" and "chi-negro." Yes, that's funny stuff -- but we dare you to tell us what it has to do with the story.
Then again, the way everything winds up in Domino, the whole story is rendered irrelevant anyway. Bang, Bang!
BOTTOM LINE
Domino is stylish. Keira Knightley is hot stuff. The supporting cast is amusing. But imagine if a violent video game and MTV mated. The child's name would be Domino, and it would give you a splitting headache.
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