GENRE:
Action Spy Film
RATING:
PG-13 for violence and language
RUNTIME:
2 hours and 3 minutes
PLATFORM:
Movie Theatre
STARRING:
Rami Malek (Mr. Robot, No Time to
Die, Bohemian Rhapsody)
Laurence
Fishburne (The Matrix, John Wick 2); Holt
McCallany (Mindhunter)
DIRECTOR:
James Hawes (Slow Horses. One Life)
WRITERS:
Ken Nolan (Black Hawk Down) & Gary
Spinelli (American Made)
PLOT:
An CIA decoder seeks vengeance when his wife is killed in a terrorist attack
and the CIA won’t help.
FULL DISCLOSURE: This looked like an okay popcorn flick.
STORY STUFF: Just as I suspected, a nice popcorn flick. The storyline is pretty predictable, especially with a couple of the deaths shown in the trailer. While an analyst taking down bad guys is a Jack Ryan thing to do, Malek’s Heller is more panicky and not really saving the day, just getting revenge. There are some good chases and clever devices but nothing to hoot and holler about. I wish there was a bit more humour thrown in. There was a line about ‘treason’ that I found hypocritically funny.
ACTING STUFF: Malek on computers isn’t new as he rocked his Mr. Robot role a few years back. He gets to be more active and little less socially awkward. Fishburne seems to be stuck in these mentor roles lately. Jon Bernthal has a small role as an agent aptly names ‘The Bear’. If you need a slightly crazy tough guy, he’s your man.
ARTISTIC STUFF: Not much to say here. Some okay action pieces.
VERDICT:
Three stars out of five
SEE IT IF:
You aren’t sick of spy stuff on TV
UPCOMING REVIEW: Thunderbolts*
