Farejando Vingança

I have never reviewed a film before, but felt compelled to do so after giving this a watch.

I saw the previews and was excited to sit down and watch...unfortunately, the best part of the movie was the trailer. Eckhart did his best with what he had to work with, but it there were so many forced scenes it was distracting. Beyond that, while the story is pretty linear, scene to scene seems to leave out a lot of information in regards to character development and development of friendships when seemingly there was none.

This is definitely a watch it once film. In the hands of a capable director and producer this could have been excellent.

I do have a soft spot for these type of movies... Channing Tatum's "Dog" was surprisingly good, I thought "A Dog's Purpose" was good also. I mean, Turner and Hooch set the bar (or should I say "stick"), it's a classic. I think the less said about K-9 the better. It seems an element of comedy helps these movies build the relationship between man and his would-be best friend. Here though, it's out and out drama with not much in the way of levity to break up the doom and gloom.

I think this started out well but the point where it really needed to start drawing you in to whatever the endgame was, it didn't. Aaron Eckhart did a decent job but I think was let down by the watered-down, John Wick-esque, murky underworld that he was tasked with infiltrating and ultimately toppling. A real lack of a crescendo with the final confrontation being somewhat absent of any real, ahem, 'bite'.

Had I heard about this 2023 crime thriller titled "Muzzle" from writers Carlyle Eubank and John Stalberg Jr. Prior to sitting down to watch it? No. But I figured that the movie might be worth a shot, since it had Aaron Eckhart and Stephen Lang on the cast list. Plus, the fact that it was a movie that I hadn't already seen, also helped to make me sit down to watch it.

The storyline in "Muzzle", as written by Carlyle Eubank and John Stalberg Jr., was a pretty straightforward one. Ultimately then the movie came off as being a rather generic crime thriller. So the writers didn't really manage to accomplish a whole lot with the script and storyline. A shame, because there certainly was potential for something here.

The acting performances in "Muzzle" were good, and Aaron Eckhart does carry the movie well enough in the leading role. It wasn't a movie that boasted a whole lot of familiar faces on the cast list. In fact, I was only familiar with Aaron Eckhart and Stephen Lang.

For a crime thriller, then the movie was not particularly interesting or thrilling. And that made for a somewhat bland and mediocre viewing experience. And while I did manage to finish the movie, I can honestly say that I was only mildly entertained. This is hardly a movie that warrants more than a single viewing.

My rating of director John Stalberg Jr.'s 2023 crime thriller "Muzzle" lands on a bland five out of ten stars.

This movie only starts to become really suspenseful, gripping and action packed after some 45 minutes, so beware the real rewarding suspenseful part of this movie is only firing up during the second half.

But this movie has enough to offer in the first 45 minutes as well, because everything (direction, photography, editing, soundscore, dialogues, characters) are of SOLID quality. I really appreciate it so much to see a movie like this, made with an abundance of craftmanship.

The first 45 minutes are firstmost a subtle character portrait of an introvert, aggressive cop (terrific role by Aaron Eckhart), struggling with his inner demons. When his dog gets shot he desperately wants to find the dogkiller, but while investigating he stumbles upon the most dangerous drug cartel.

Slow start, bleak and supsenseful final. Terrific acting performance by Aaron Eckart. Solid direction.

Probably best suited for an arthouse movie audience, because this is defnitely NOT a fastpaced gungho action picture, but much more a slowburning, psychological character portrait of a cop, struggling with his inner demons.

IN A NUTSHELL: The story is about a cop whose canine partner gets killed in the line of duty. After losing his dog, Jake Rosser plummets deep into a sinister underworld to uncover the truth about who may be responsible.

The film was directed by John Stalberg Jr, who also wrote it with Carlyle Eubank.

THINGS I LIKED: I've been a fan of Aaron Eckhart for years, and I usually like all of his movies, so I was interested in seeing this one. The movie is a study that shows how both his character and the dog are muzzled by past traumas.

I also really like Stephen Lang as an actor. His characters always look like they have a long story to tell about their background.

The movie shows a very ugly side of what's happening in America now. The streets are filled with homeless people in tents surrounded by garbage and worse things. The story takes place in Los Angeles which, sadly, has turned into a complete dumpster fire of a city.

The color palette of the film is dirty and grimy, perfectly representing the filthy underworld the movie is about.

You'll learn some German words because cops speak to their canine partners in German! I've heard that German Shepherds are one of the smartest dogs.

There is a suspenseful scene with some action that utilizes very interesting camera angles. Well done.

The ending is really sweet.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: The love interest is odd. The woman is a nurse with her own set of emotional baggage, so it's weird that she would be interested in an infamous, violent cop who has shown zero warmth toward her when they first met. She basically throws herself at him, vanishes for the majority of the story, and then shows up at the end of the movie with almost no more interaction with the cop.

The final villain looked like a cartoon character.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Profanity, including F-bombs We see prostitutes, crazy people, and druggies on the streets An explosion kills people Violence Blood A variety of weapons are used Cigarettes and alcohol use We see people get killed in various ways.

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