Director: Sam Hargrave
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani, Rudhraksh Jaiswal
Running time: 1hr 57minutes
The film is set in Dhaka, an unusual location by Hollywood’s standards, but serves well as a claustrophobic battleground. Chris Hemsworth, a fitting actor for the lead role, steps up to his usual tough-man persona, this time more mercenary than Norse god, keeping his Australian drawl intact. Playing a black-market killer hired to retrieve the kidnapped son of an incarcerated drug lord, Hemsworth’s character goes on an emotional journey while taking care of unsavory characters along the way.
The film does everything it says on the tin but with a style of choreographed fight scene less frequently shown in today’s films – no doubt due to the director’s background in stunt coordination. And boy does it show.
With some of the best fight scenes to date, the hand-to-hand combat comes across as brutal but authentic, making the likes of John Wick seem almost amateurish. Coupled with an impressive array of ‘oners’ the viewer is held captivated with long, uncut shots following Hemsworth from street to street, house to house, which directly forces the spectator to partake in the brutal servings of justice.
Though exhilarating, the ultra-violence may be too much for some viewers, having led some commentators to express criticism of its gratuitous barbarity while others have defended the violence, arguing it is to be expected in such a film. Conversely, it could be said that the violence is in fact the main vehicle of the story, needed to drive the plot along and keep spectators invested.
This leads to the movie’s weakest point: its characters. Subtlety and character development are sparse. The protagonist does have a back story, and though Hemsworth’s acting chops are good enough to add some depth to the plot, as a viewer it can be challenging to properly invest. Similarly, the kidnapped boy’s background isn’t explored to its full potential. Nevertheless, where the dialogue falls flat we can still enjoy acting talent from the young Rudhraksh Jaiswal and can be sure to see more of him in the near future.
In spite of the predictable plot and formulaic character arcs, the viewer still goes along for the ride as the brisk pace and visual effects keep our eyes fixated on the action while our brains remain on stand by.
Needless to say, the film is packed with more energy than most flicks of late, and while it doesn’t exactly perpetuate a progressive image of Bangladesh, the AK-wielding children and convoluted streets do serve as a great backdrop for action, representative of the country or not.
Overall, this is a solid directorial debut from stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave undoubtedly paving the way for more of his creative endeavors in the future.
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