Opening

Knockaround Guys

Dangerous Company

Barry Pepper, right, learns about the Mob from his father, Dennis Hopper, left, and uncle, John Malkovich, in 'Knockaround Guys.'

Most Viewed: The Lovely Bones(5722 views) Tommy Lee Jones exits ‘Lincoln Lawyer’(4649 views) Hugh Jackman to star in 'Real Steel'(2864 views) Apatow, Universal pick up pitches(2613 views) 'New Moon' draws global audience(1999 views) The Princess and the Frog(1874 views)

One of a handful of completed New Line features on the back burner while the company focuses on its "Lord of the Rings" behemoth, "Guys" opens first in Italy Nov. 30 -- re-titled "Dangerous Company" by local distrib Nexo -- before bowing Stateside in February.

A 1987-set prologue establishes central character Matty Demaret as an unlikely contender to inherit the mantle of his underboss father Benny "Chains" (Dennis Hopper). The 12-year-old boy's smoothly sadistic Uncle Teddy (John Malkovich) places him in a room with a neighborhood thug who ratted on his dad, puts a gun in his hand and tells him to shoot. But Matty is unable to pull the trigger. Cut to the present, when the aspirations of the now-adult Matty (Barry Pepper) to be a legitimate sports agent are stymied by his criminal connections and nor can he make it in the Mob due to his father's refusal to involve him in operations.

Matty's buddies are equally frustrated in their ambitions to bite into some big-time action. Chris (Andrew Davoli) is a spoiled womanizer looking after his father's restaurant; Taylor (Vin Diesel) uses his muscles to collect payoffs from local businesses; and Johnny (Seth Green) is a coke-head pilot unable to get a real flying gig. Matty sees a way beyond his status as an overpaid errand boy when he manages, with Teddy's help, to secure an important assignment he hopes will earn him his father's respect.

Put in charge of collecting a half-million dollar payment, he enlists Johnny to fly cross-country to Spokane for the pickup. But at a refueling stop in Montana, Johnny gets spooked by the suspicious-looking sheriff (Tom Noonan), leaving the loot on the tarmac, where it's picked up by two pothead skateboard punks. Matty, Taylor and Chris fly to small-town Wibaux to retrieve the bag before Benny learns of the slip-up. But things are complicated by the violent, corrupt sheriff who has other plans for the cash, and by the arrival of Teddy, who also has his own agenda.

Dialogue is appealingly droll if a little overscripted at times, and plenty of mild amusement is milked from the friction between the street-smart Brooklynites and Montana roughnecks. But the climactic faceoff -- with multiple weapons aimed at almost all the main characters -- feels like a scene recycled from too many similar pics.

Injecting the drama with enough edge to keep it compelling, Koppelman and Levien's screenplay ably explores themes such as the desire for approval, the struggle to shape a future out of uncertain prospects, male camaraderie, and the guys' awareness that the fast gangster life they grew up admiring is now obsolete. Considering the opportunities for explosive macho dramatics, the directors mostly opt for cool sobriety and contained violence.

The four young leads each give their characters distinctive and engaging traits, with Pepper and Diesel (who previously teamed in "Saving Private Ryan") playing especially well off each other and both sketching in greater depths to what could have been simply a brains-and-brawn duo. While they could do these kinds of parts in their sleep, Hopper's slightly crazed irascibility and Malkovich's eloquent, sardonic manner are harnessed to good effect.

Pic's rhythm is a little erratic at times, and some scenes could be cut tighter. Clint Mansell's moody electronic score enhances the brooding tone of the drama without dampening its many lighter moments. Tom Richmond's widescreen lensing is sharp and unembellished, contrasting the gritty Brooklyn scenes with the more open Montana locations. The Twin Towers are glimpsed twice in the print set for Italian release, though given the post-Sept. 11 trend in Gotham-lensed pics, these shots may yet end up being removed for the U.S.

Camera (Deluxe color, Cinemascope widescreen), Tom Richmond; editor, David Moritz; music, Clint Mansell; production designer, Lester Cohen; art director, Kei Ng; set decorator, Cal Loucks; costume designer, Beth Pasternak; sound (Dolby Digital/DTS/SDDS), Doug Ganton; assistant director, Andrew Shea; casting, Laurel Smith. Reviewed at Technicolor, Rome, Nov. 13, 2001. MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 93 MIN.