I was surprised by how tedious this movie turned out to be. Timur Bekmambetov’s (Nochnoy dozor”Nightwatch”) big Hollywood crossover is just a bunch of firecrackers tossed into a blast of hot air. There some empty flashes along with a whole load of empty dialog. James McAvoy (The Last King of Scotland) stars as Wesley Gibson, an awkward office pack mule who believes he lives a meaningless life. His father abandoned him, his girlfriend hates him and his boss is abusive. Screenwriters Michael Brandt, Derek Haas and Chris Morgan go out of their way to drill the point home that the average person is a miserable cog. Wesley only finds an escape from his commoner fate when he is approached by Fox (the frightening skinny Angelia Jolie). Fox reveals to Wesley that his father was a great assassin and that he is the heir to his legacy. From this point forward the script jumps from one moment of peril to the next until the final credits. Wesley joins a league of assassins, gets trained and then tracks down the man who killed his father. There’s supposed to be a big surprise during the mid-point reversal but this reveal is only shocking if you’re a complete dimwit. Bekmambetov forecasts his intentions clearly throughout the film removing any tension and makes the film rather plodding.

The performances are stock. McAvoy, Jolie and Morgan Freeman (as the wise old man Sloan) are all passable but not remarkable in their roles. This seems to be mostly because the script doesn’t ask too much from them. The emotional range of the film is limited and the actors spend most of their time trying to look cool instead of making a connection with the audience. Much of the film reminded me of Jolie’s previous Tomb Raider movies. This, like the Tomb Raider movies, is nothing more than content-free film making. The point of the film is a chain of action sequences, the characters are developed enough to keep them from being notably thin and the ultimate point is lost in illogical double talk. The summation provided at the final moments of the film contradicts the lesson learned in the final act as Wesley effectively adopts the philosophy of the villain. To be fair, it doesn’t really matter one way or the other because the philosophies forwarded by the script are so muddled that they are little more than slogans. He basically goes for “taste good” over “less filling”.

If you’re looking for a senseless action film you will find there’s more senselessness than action in this film. There are some action sequences that are designed to be spectacular but they are empty of tension. This leads the film to be jammed with action without purpose – the cinematic equivalent of empty calories.




Related Reviews:
Morgan Freeman movies
The Dark Knight (2008)
Evan Almighty (2007)


Other Critic’s Reviews:
Black Sheep Reviews
Roger Ebert

Labels: Angelina Jolie, film, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, movie review, Timur Bekmambetov