How others will see it. Red-blooded American men should relish this gritty "payback" crime drama. That's what I believed while watching the movie. Checking critical and fan reaction on imdb.com proved mixed, however. Perhaps some will consider the film derivative, an amalgamation of countless other movies where a "good" killer hunts a "bad" killer, with the life of a hot-looking woman (or two) also at stake.
How I felt about it. The main hottie here, Famke Janssen, is innocent by the standards of the film, despite her substantial knowledge of her husband's criminal activities, enough to imprison her for years on charges of conspiracy and accessory. Meanwhile, the anti-hero lead, Keitel, is a good guy in comparison to Dorff. Dorff murderously double crosses his partners, and shoots his own girlfriend when she gets in the way.
We know that Dorff is going to get his, since even a post-code adult male audience would dislike Dorff getting away with it. Keitel must get his revenge, even if it kills him. But not Janssen, who has two angelic tykes to raise, and must be rewarded for helping Keitel despite the fact that he just committed an armed robbery where he committed assault on innocent employees.
City of Industry dutifully follows crime drama formulas, building up our anti-hero and villain for their inevitable "one man dies" showdown. Janssen's motivation to help Keitel is suspect. Maybe he killed her husband, and is after his money. Dorff's kidnapping of Janssen is also suspect. Is Keitel really going to show up to an ambush with the money? How many gunshots in the chest, and beatings with intent to kill, can the middle-aged Keitel take? He must have an aversion to wearing a bullet-proof vest.
And the movie is uncomfortable in several ways. The two criminal gangs are respectively composed of blacks and Chinese, hardly a positive way to represent race in cinema. The characters smoke frequently (well, they are criminals). Janssen even smokes in the presence of a half-dead Keitel (the first time, not the second time). Finally, one has to worry about the necessity of violence to solve short-term problems. Someone doesn't give you information? Beat them up, particularly if they're not showing proper respect.
Nonetheless, the movie is more than watchable. It's compelling, and we pull for Keitel and Janssen against our better judgment. The casting, script, character development, and direction are competent. Just because its been done before, doesn't mean it's badly done.