The Enforcer

A good film containing suspense, noisy action-packed, intrigue, thrills, shootouts, twists, turns and loads of violence. An action and violence thriller set in the underworld of Miami, in which Antonio Banderas plays Cuda a cold mafia hitman who's spent his whole life building up a criminal organization when he discovers a red line that he is initially unwilling to cross. So he will be forced to confront the people he previously worked for when he attempts to help a teen (Zolee Griggs), a young fighter called Stray (Mojean Aria) and his girlfriend (Alexis Ren). The enforcer has to sacrifice everything to save a young girl he has befriended from his femme fatale boss who is involved in prostitution and cybersex trafficking. As his boss Estelle (Kate Bosworth) is putting a young runaway's life in grave danger.

This an acceptable film made in ¨Death wish¨ style about a subject matter that we have already seen in many and better films, but thanks to the great Antonio Banderas, the inconveniences and cliche elements are disminished and the flick's elevated to important heights. It is a decent picture with Antonio Banderas in the wake of Liam Neeson, playing a murderer for hire who protects teens, while killing mercilessly nasties. Outside of the moral questions that this picture throws up, resulting to be an account of a society that can't protect the honest, as the film packs a searingly brilliant turn from Antonio Banderas. The Spanish actor plays Cuda, a thug who works for Estelle, who controls the city Miami's underworld. When Cuda meets a runaway teenager who reminds him of her missed daughter, her world will turn upside down. Banderas as Cuba and his companion Stray well played by Mojean Aria are two delinquent guardians , but as is well defined in the movie itself, "not all guardians are angels". Antonio Banderas is the complete spectacle as a hired killer who has one last chance to make up for his past and find redemption - both for himself and his family - before the mob hunts him down for his betrayal. In Banderas' latest films he has been playing tough, vengeful or vigilante characters in some decent films, such as: ¨Security¨, ¨Bullet head¨, ¨Acts of Vengeance¨, ¨Black Butterfly¨ and the lousy ¨Code Name Banshee¨. Dealing with an avenger, burning for revenge, hunts for his organization's murderers, as he decides to fight back against the rising tide of crime, one can't help but feel a sense of empowerment, making the film a whole lot of fun for viewers who will be on the edge of their armchairs, though ,at times, it looks increasingly passsionless and mechanical. It's certainly thrilling, though the morality may be questionable, even in this time, as the spectators were clearly on the Cuda/Banderas' side . It is strangely compelling and taps into some sensitive souls. Furthermore, a nice newcomer secondary cast shows up, such as: Mojean Aria , Alexis Ren, Zolee Griggs and Kate Bosworth in a brief but very villain role.

Despite to be set in Miami, Florida, it was filmed in Thessaloniki, well photographed by cameraman Greece Callan Green, as well as a moving musical score by Giorgio Giampà. The motion picture was well directed by Richard Hughes, although sometimes it feels a bit slow and flawed. Richard Hughes is an Australian born Writer & Director. With acclaimed success in commercials, short films & fashion campaigns, it was in 2015 he developed, directed & co-produced 'The Viral Experiment'. A series of 8 videos that fooled the world & mainstream media, all whilst garnering over 280 million views, and including: Red Hill: 24 Days of Adrenaline ,awarding him the prestigious 2016 'One Show Gold Pencil' award. This 'The Enforcer (2022)' resulted to be his film debut. Rating: 6/10. The flick will appeal to Antonio Banderas fans.

The Enforcer isn't a bad movie for this genre. It's good enough to watch once but it isn't a movie I would watch again in the future. For that it lacks quality. Antonio Banderas isn't a bad actor but he isn't an award-winning actor either. His facial expressions are most of the time the same, whatever character he plays. To be honest I preferred watching the to me unknown actor Mojean Aria. The Enforcer is an action movie, well shot but a bit predictable. The title itself already gives away the plot... Antonio is going to enforce the living hell, so don't expect anything else. A bit like a movie with Liam Neeson, you just know what the outcome will be.

The combination of established star getting on a bit, in this case Antanio Bandaras, and simple action-oriented title conjures up old man kicking ass vibes like "The Equalizer" or "Taken". This is not one of those films.

Its not clear whether it isn't one of those films because it doesn't have the action budget or if it genuinely has pretentions towards being a Taxi Driver esqe hard boiled thriller. Either way the result is a snooze fest. There is nothing wrong with a minimal action thriller but the spaces need to build tension and intrigue, not have characters meander around until a contrived conclusion. Everything seems tiny in scope, with supposedly large scale criminal organisations run by a couple of guys and a cliche spouting crime boss who seemingly has one henchman.

Antonio Bandaras brings some class to the title role but there isn't much he can do with a character who's one trait is "estranged from his daughter" and who does less to drive the plot than random coincidence does. Likewise, Mojin Aria does his best to portrey his character "Stray" (he's from the streets you see) as a scrappy survivor who's on the edge and just wants to improve his lot in life but is stuck with laughable romance dialogue and a mentorship angle with Bandaras that boils down to a one job, a handful of sentences and some car trouble.

It really feels like everyone involved just wanted to get this film over and done with. Anyone watching will share that sentiment.

4 dead gangsters out of 10 in the whole city.

Recently it seems like Antonio Banderas has taken the same DTV route as many other aging action stars like Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson, John Travolta etc making mediocre DTV movies for a big paycheck.

The Enforcer isn't the worst movie DTV movie I've seen this year but it's not the best either. Kate Bosworth and rapper "2 Chains" essentially have extended cameos here that don't amount to much. Banderas is the real star here and for it's worth he actually is in this movie for a majority of it and puts effort into the role.

Unfortunately despite Banderas giving his full effort "The Enforcer" is a mediocre crime thriller with a played out redemption story that we've all seen too many times by this point.

Some of the external reviews say this film is "predictable." Not really a fair criticism, all films are predictable in that they all have a beginning a middle and an end. They all tell a story. The real issue is, is the film entertaining, does it hold the attention, does it connect? In this one, Banderas (age 62!) plays the semi-retired hitman feeling pangs of regret, trying to do the right thing. Similar to 1995's Assassins, where he played opposite Stallone. Does the film work? Yes? Mainly because of his star power, good direction, editing, casting. He makes you care about what happens next. Above average. Recommended. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))