Somewhere deep inside Tony Scott's cinematic demolition derby is the bizarre true story of Domino Harvey, the troubled daughter of English actor Laurence Harvey, who made a life for herself on the fringes of Los Angeles as a bounty hunter for hire. After gleefully acknowledging that the film is about to play fast and loose with facts that aren't too certain to begin with (Scott tacks on a "Sort of" to the traditional "Based on a True Story" intro), Scott introduces us to tattooed, hard-as-nails teenager Domino (Keira Knightley), who, after her father's death in 1993, was dragged from England to L.A. by her Beverly Hills, 90210-smitten mother (Jacqueline Bisset). After trying her hand at college and a brief stint as a model, Domino attends a seminar given by bail bondsman Claremont Williams III (Delroy Lindo) and the legendary bounty hunter Ed Moseby (Mickey Rourke), and decides that tracking wanted felons for cash is the life for her. Surprisingly, Moseby and his moody Venezuelan sidekick, Choco (Edgar Ramirez), agree to take her on; they figure a fearless, good-looking chick with a posh British accent will do wonders for their image. And they're right. Not long after Domino is voted Bounty Hunter of the Year, they're approached by reality-TV producer Mark Heiss (Christopher Walken), who wants to do a Cops-style show around Domino and the boys, but insists 90210 has-beens Ian Ziering and Brian Austin Green (good-naturedly playing themselves) ride shotgun. Meanwhile, Williams talks them all into tracking whoever ripped $10 million off an armored car, unaware that they're stepping into a reckless and very dangerous scheme that starts with a Department of Motor Vehicles clerk (the always crowd-pleasing Mo'nique) and ends in one of the biggest bloodbaths in movie history. Along with his brother, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott ranks as one of the most significant commercial movie stylists of the past 20 years, bringing the cool, slick look of television spots and hyperkinetic music videos to feature films. It now seems that style has completely replaced substance in Scott's films, and he leaves gaping holes in his heroine's character: The fact that the real-life Domino eventually died of an accidental drug overdose after being arrested for dealing meth only makes these omissions all the more frustrating. But what style: The grainy, blown-out texture is the color of nicotine stains and blood-soaked gauze, Brenda Lee and Steppenwolf slamdance on the soundtrack and no shot lasts longer than five seconds. It'll either fire every last synapse in your brain or have you fleeing in agony. --Ken Fox
