Focus is not a really good movie. It's not a really bad movie either though. If you don't have a problem with Will Smith (and his relationship in this movie),you might be able to enjoy this. There are a couple of things in here, that are nicely told and shot (like the explanation or "how-to" guide).

We concentrate on Will Smith and the movie tries to keep things mysterious which works at times, though the resolution of most of those mysteries are mostly disappointing. If you don't care for that, there is light fun to be had here. The chemistry sometimes is not what the movie will or would want you it to be, but overall it's a decent con movie

Master con-man Nicky 'Mellow' Spurgeon (Will Smith) is intrigued by amateur thief Jess Barrett (Margot Robbie). He shows her a few moves. She tracks him down later which he expected. She begs him to be her mentor and he lets her into his crew running cons in New Orleans. However at the end, he leaves her behind. Three years later, he's running a con and is surprised to see Jess again in Buenos Aires.

This is meant to be a fun caper movie and it is just that at times. I really like Margot Robbie whenever she plays up her fun side. Will Smith could smile a little more and have a bit more fun. They seem to have fun flirting but the movie needs more moments of fun. This pairing has potential which is not fully realized.

"Focus" is an American 100-minute movie from 2015, so by now it is two years old. It was written by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, a duo of filmmakers who have collaborated for a really long time and this resulted in some good and some not so good works apparently. I guess this one here is somewhere in-between, maybe closer to the "not so good". It features Will Smith and Margot Robbie as the lead actors and while both are really big names, I still don't see that great talent in both of them, especially Robbie. They aren't bad actors, but they are also far from convincing unfortunately when their characters require true range and depth and they can only partially make up for these shortcomings with their great deal of charisma. Then again, they fit nicely in here because this movie (and the script in particular) are also about make-believe. The two filmmakers I mentioned earlier definitely need a lesson in subtlety. There are many many scenes and moments, and eventually the entire film, where they go way over the top and not in a good way at all. The first meeting between the two protagonists is a good example. Yes they want to depict that teacher-student relationship and show us how skilled Smith's character is, but all those tricks, all that he steals from her is just too much. Half of the items would really have been enough. This is a bit of shame as the "angry boyfriend" scene before that was actually not too bad. And there are more food scenes like the one with BD Wong (he gave a nice supporting performance and is probably among Asia's best in Hollywood right now),which was somewhat fun to see and the best thing is you don't even have to care about American Football to appreciate it because I sure don't.

But these bright moments are quickly made up for and the negative element wins eventually. It's all so pompous, pseudo-intelligent and exaggerated that it's almost impossible to appreciate the film as a whole. Robbie and Smith are just means for the story and they also do not manage to elevate the script. The weakest moment of the film is probably the ending. I was tempted to give it a better rating before that final scene with Smith's character's father, but let's be honest here. A dad who shoots his son in the chest (even with the medical justification) is just too much and this is where the film really loses it all and hits rock-bottom. I guess you can check this one out if you really care a lot about the world of con men, but it is still not a satisfying take and elaboration on the subject either. So maybe only check it out if you are a huge Smith and/or Robbie fan. Otherwise skip it and you are not missing much, especially not in terms of realism and fraud as the biggest trick pulled off in here was to make audiences believe this is actually a convincing work. Thumbs down.