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Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

A film based on the story of legendary union figure Jimmy Hoffa (played here by Jack Nicholson).Can I first say this was strange casting for Bobby Kennedy? It just seems like someone doing a very poor Kennedy impersonation, not a serious attempt to really capture him. Which is unfortunate, given how central his role is. (This film, more than anything, seems to be Hoffa versus Kennedy.) The Nicholson casting is not perfect, either, because it is hard to hide his distinctive voice... but I think he pulls it off ,and the makeup helps.The Hoffa story is a fascinating one, and one that deserves to be explored on film again. This was 1992, and I write this in 2015. In the past two decades, more memoirs have been written, more government documents released... we need another biopic, and maybe a really serious documentary?

It couldn't be easy to make a film about a man whose story has no ending. But Danny DeVito and David Mamet tackle just that story in Hoffa, a biopic about the legendary union leader Jimmy Hoffa. The film chronicle's Hoffa's beginnings and his eventual rise to fame and power in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union, a union which eventually became the largest union in the United States. It leads all the way up to Hoffa's disappearance in 1975. The truth behind his disappearance is a mystery, but the film provides its own theory on what might have happened. Jimmy Hoffa was arguably one of the most interesting men in America during his glory days and Hoffa does a decent job at telling that story.The film is uniquely told through the eyes of Hoffa's best friend, Bobby Ciaro who is played by Danny DeVito, who also directs the film in his sometimes straightforward, sometimes offbeat style. Telling the story like this makes for an interesting narrative and gives the film a unique sense of style, telling the story of one man through the eyes of another. But what Hoffa really tries to accomplish is just telling the story. It focuses on getting all the details right and every important aspect of the story out there for all to see. What the film lacks is a lot of emotion or passion towards the subject matter. It's an exciting film and plenty enticing, but it isn't a robust dramatic telling of the life of Jimmy Hoffa. This is more of a well made documentary on Hoffa's life than a biopic.But don't get me wrong. Hoffa does the best it can from a purely storytelling aspect. The story is there and it is alive. It isn't always the most exciting adventure and it drags considerably at times. But it is a high quality film in specific aspects, namely acting and writing. It goes without saying but Jack Nicholson's acting is incredible and David Mamet's writing is superb. These are things that we've come to expect from these two gentlemen and Hoffa shows that they care about anything and everything they do. Danny DeVito also does a fine job in his role and the relationship between him and Nicholson is believable and compelling. Mamet's dialogue drives the film home and gives it its slick tongue and witty cadence. The film stands out in these aspects, but as a summation of all its parts it is nothing more than an interesting little look into the life of Jimmy Hoffa that we can enjoy as an informational piece, rather than a film.I enjoyed Hoffa but it is another of the many films I see that I wouldn't plan on seeing again. It makes for a good one time watch because now I know more about Jimmy Hoffa and the fascinating story that surrounds him. It's always fun to watch Nicholson act his head off and Mamet write himself to death, and Hoffa certainly delivers these things. It doesn't go much further than that, and it doesn't end up doing much more than hold my attention for a little more than two hours.

Perhaps I should have known more of the history of Jimmy Hoffa and the labor movement before I undertook watching this film. Then maybe I would have followed it more closely. For me it was a blur of shouted arguments, back room deal making, riots and bullying. It was difficult for me to understand what the heck was going on.But Jack Nicholson and Danny Devito portrayed their characters so well that the movie held my attention from beginning to end. I especially liked the scenes that pitted Jimmy Hoffa against Robert Kennedy.Also, the ending, the demise of Jimmy Hoffa seemed pure Hollywood, which is to say spectacular and implausible. Everyone wonders about the last hours of Jimmy Hoffa's life and I don't think this film really answers that.

Danny DiVitto, Jack Nicholson and a slick production design are the main positive contributors to this work. The story itself does make one ponder history, in that it attempts to make one rethink the world, as remembered by survivors of that era.While some still stand tall and proud and proclaim Hoffa as having been the greatest champion of working Americans ever to walk the land, others still believe he stole millions from the pension and welfare funds of those American workers he represented.Was he the victim of conniving teamsters, gangsters, and government agents? or was he his own worst enemy? I guess we'll never really know, but one thing is sure: The saying, "Gone as Hoffa," still applies today and probably will for at least two decades more.All in all? It's not suitable for Friday/Saturday/Family viewing and should be watched only if you're a dedicated Nicholson fan, DiVitto fan, or an American History buff.It rates a 5.6/10 from...the Fiend :.