Story - 0.50 :: Direction - 1.00 :: Pacing - 1.25 :: Performances - 1.00 :: Entertainment - 1.25
TOTAL - 5/10
Not every film needs to stimulate the mind. Some merely need to deliver car chases, gunfire, and Vinnie Jones doing his best impression of a man who has just been cut off at the bar. This is that film.
The plot is action-movie paint-by-numbers: an unnamed anti-hero steals from a deranged crime boss, unknowingly picks up said boss's pregnant wife, and suddenly finds himself pursued by a madman with no moral compass and a deep personal investment in retrieving his family and fortune. Cue the requisite chaos, violence, and a shadowy hitman named "The Frenchman" because, of course, there is.
The writing, courtesy of Cooper Bibaud, Danny Mac, and James Clayton, is nothing if not predictable. The characters are stock action figures: the reluctant hero, the unhinged villain, the enigmatic assassin. Originality is nowhere to be found, but at least James Clayton's direction injects some energy into the proceedings. His use of tempo shifts and creative camera angles make the relentless action more engaging than it has any right to be.
As for performances, Vinnie Jones reigns supreme, which is another way of saying that the acting is functional at best. He glares, he growls, he explodes into violence; he is every Vinnie Jones character ever, and honestly, that is half the fun. The rest of the cast do their best with what they are given, but with characters this thinly drawn, their efforts can only go so far.
Is it good? Not really. Is it entertaining? Absolutely. This is cinematic junk food: it will not nourish the mind, but it will satisfy that craving for mindless mayhem.
