Shrapnel

Pulse pounding gunfights and a tense script keep the eyes glued to the screen. I did not except too much going into this movie and thought it would be just another mediocre action movie. What a surprise to find it thrilling and entertaining. Starts off slow as it builds the backstory and the inevitable showdown that is about to come.

Once that starts it is non-stop.

Most of all it was the gunfighting that hooked me. Some of the best since movies like heat or John Wick, but more more visceral.

Who does not like to see a violent cartel get what's coming, and this movie delivers in spades. What needs to happen, happens.

It would be best if you first switched off any expectations of reality. This is a B move, and with that mindset, I enjoyed it. It does take around the half-hour mark to get the action going, and it doesn't spend time introducing the viewer to the victim; Shrapnel expects that we understand and move on. This is well done, with lots of splatter and a little torture. Having watched Equalizer 3 recently, I thought if the script and production had been a little better, you could swap Jason Patric for Denzel Washington, and Shrapnel would have been a better Equalizer 3. But Jason Patric holds his own. Leave any reasoning at the door, and if action revenge is for you, then I expect you will enjoy it.

For a low budget film, this was pretty good. It reminds me of Rambo Last Blood, but with a better outcome and ending. It's not perfect by any means, but it's entertaining and the fight scenes are really well done. Yes, the story has been done before, but so has almost every story out there these days. The camera work was blurry at times as well, but not enough to interfere with the movie. I liked it for a B movie and would love to see more like this.

However, my biggest gripe with the movie was that some of the actors and actresses could have been better picked. The wife just didn't act very good and the brother of the cartel leader didn't exactly look like a tough man or scary. The scene with the wife in bed was painful to watch and the brother acting tough when attacking the house was too, but everything else was pretty good.

Probably best suited for the fans of this B-movie action genre, for those who just prefer violent good guy vs bad guys shootouts and that is exactly what you are gonna get.

The good: from 35 minutes onwards, it's basically contineous shootouts between Jason Patric and a Mexican drug kartel who has kidnapped his daughter.

The shootouts are okay-ish, but nothing terrific, especially since Jason Patric survives every hailstorm of bullets and kills everybody with a single shot himself. A bit laughable, but then again this is a B-movie. Treat it as such and it'll be a nice pasttime.

For those (like me) who are a bit impatient, skip the first 35 minutes, nothing much happens at the start...

So impressed by this. Simple story but well told. Great pace . Good enough acting and well staged action sequences. Small criticism is the sound during gunfights seemed at odds with action on the screen but more than watchable. Maybe it was the platform I watched it on(sky cinema) I'd recommend this as a brisk. Brain out , 89 minute action movie that for sure has you rooting for the hero not the Mexican cartel. Satisfactory ending. Don't expect a big budget hollywood blockbuster and accept it's a better "B" movie than we have a right to expect and you will be absolutely fine. Probably made for the catering bill on a marvel bill. Impressive.