I have always strongly believed that the right successors to Marlon Brando are Robert de Niro and Al Pacino. No films have highlighted this fact more succintly than the first two Godfather films. In the first, Pacino plays son to Brando's Don Corleone, while in the second, de Niro plays the younger Corleone. While Pacino never appeared with Brando again, de Niro gets to be paired with the old master of Method in The Score, a slightly lethargic but exciting heist caper. Imagine, movie buffs, the young and the old Vito Corleone in the same scene! I was excited, of course.

In addition to these casts, we have Edward Norton, a hotshot young actor, and since this is a genre film, everybody is more or less just enjoying himself or herself. Of course, I have got to mention this; Brando had problem with the director Frank Oz, and wanted de Niro to direct all his scenes. This news is debatable, and personally I don't care. Scenes with and without Brando worked very well.

Heist movies have mostly worked, and I believe The Score should be listed as one of the classics, simply for the last forty minutes when the actual heist takes place. There, remains the problem. It takes time to develop its story, introduce the character and build the suspense. The latter is not realised until the final part and fans of action may be disappointed with it. I sat through the whole thing mainly for its actor.

The most amazing thing about this movie is the fact that the plot depends entirely on old worn-out cliché of heist flicks - the hero retiring, wants out and pulling off the final score. The story is built around it, and it gave way to twist and turn. You might have seen some of them, but Frank Oz and the cast manage to keep us from cringing.

I cannot take my eyes of Brando and de Niro. Those two guys defined and redefined acting for Hollywood, and probably anywhere else. Both have gone to the extend very few have, and many imitated. Here, both are relaxed, and mostly, enjoying themselves. Only of recent, both of them have involved themselves in commercial genre films, considering that in the past, most of what they did were award material. Here, there is no need for Method, just follow the script and everything will fall in place. One must congratulate director Frank Oz for the good build-up towards the climax.

As usual, lighten up and enjoy it. You might find plenty of problems during the first half. There is still suspense here and there, again a trifle on the cliché side. If you are patient, you are in for a big treat. There is plenty of hardware involved, and even if they look a bit fancy, they are, like the characters, very believable. Sooner or later you will understand what is going on. It is simple and doesn't need the audience to crack theirs or others head. The final scene had me literally on the edge of my seat. It has been a long time since that happened.

Again, fans of action need to back off. No explosions (one minor, actually), no car chase and no fights. Just plenty of suspense and edge-of-your-seat thrill. Oh yeah, there is a statement about listening to the older and the wiser.