At first glance this would seem like a decent enough genre attempt. I mean, an action/thriller starring the likes of Ethan Hawke and Rutger Hauer in it? That should at least be entertaining to watch right? Well, yes and no. It is not a terrible movie to watch, but it ain't exactly one you are going to remember much about, a couple of weeks after seeing it.
Good news is that this is a pretty well made movie. At least visually it is. It has a nice, modern and slick action movie look to it, with some good editing and also some pretty decent action moments in it. It isn't fully- or a very typical action flick though. You should see it more as a fast paced thriller, that just happens to feature some action in it as well.
The story has all the markings of a typical fast paced action-thriller in it. A man on the run/a mission, a couple of backstabbing characters, some twists. It is however like I said a far from typical movie as well though. The concept of the movie gets used in a pretty original way, though things tend to get a bit convoluted at times. It is one of those movies that isn't necessarily clever or hard to follow at times due to its story, but more because of the way things get told. It is all being a bit needlessly complicated at times and there are one or two too many distractions in its story, that in the end don't really add anything.
It all really doesn't make this the most fun movie to watch. The movie remains stuck somewhere between being an entertaining one and a more serious and straightforward thriller. It doesn't always manage to find a right and effective balance between all of its action and story-elements. This all definitely goes at the expense of the movie its watchability.
Things still manage to work out a bit more interesting and entertaining because of the fine actors in the movie, who really bring their characters to live. Ethan Hawke is always pretty good at playing likable- and engaging enough everyday characters and he also doesn't disappoint in this movie. It besides is fun to see Rutger Hauer in a fairly big and more serious production again, though his role certainly isn't anything too special. The movie on the other hand luckily also has some pretty decent villains in it, as often really is needed for movies of this sort.
Never the most engaging movie to watch and it pretends to be more clever and original than it in fact truly is, but it at the same time still remains a pretty decent and entertaining enough little genre attempt, starring some fine actors in it.
5/10
Watch trailer
Good news is that this is a pretty well made movie. At least visually it is. It has a nice, modern and slick action movie look to it, with some good editing and also some pretty decent action moments in it. It isn't fully- or a very typical action flick though. You should see it more as a fast paced thriller, that just happens to feature some action in it as well.
The story has all the markings of a typical fast paced action-thriller in it. A man on the run/a mission, a couple of backstabbing characters, some twists. It is however like I said a far from typical movie as well though. The concept of the movie gets used in a pretty original way, though things tend to get a bit convoluted at times. It is one of those movies that isn't necessarily clever or hard to follow at times due to its story, but more because of the way things get told. It is all being a bit needlessly complicated at times and there are one or two too many distractions in its story, that in the end don't really add anything.
It all really doesn't make this the most fun movie to watch. The movie remains stuck somewhere between being an entertaining one and a more serious and straightforward thriller. It doesn't always manage to find a right and effective balance between all of its action and story-elements. This all definitely goes at the expense of the movie its watchability.
Things still manage to work out a bit more interesting and entertaining because of the fine actors in the movie, who really bring their characters to live. Ethan Hawke is always pretty good at playing likable- and engaging enough everyday characters and he also doesn't disappoint in this movie. It besides is fun to see Rutger Hauer in a fairly big and more serious production again, though his role certainly isn't anything too special. The movie on the other hand luckily also has some pretty decent villains in it, as often really is needed for movies of this sort.
Never the most engaging movie to watch and it pretends to be more clever and original than it in fact truly is, but it at the same time still remains a pretty decent and entertaining enough little genre attempt, starring some fine actors in it.
5/10
Watch trailer
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