Security

22 October 2017. This Die Hard (1988) wannabe strays into dangerous territory in how seriously dramatic it descends. It's tone becomes darker as contemporary action movies seem to have become in general nowadays. The movie starts with a hard-hitting road battle the likes of Clear and Present Danger (1994). However whether the entertainment value goes up with this type of action thriller genre, does it reach a delicate balance between intense suspense along with heroic exhilaration or result in more disappointment, frustration in the dramatic outcomes that occur as the storyline progresses? Security almost plays out, even if it might reflect more of a rational outcome, more like a typical horror movie, with the human assassins playing the role of monsters. Think From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). Instead of using the Die Hard story formula, Security tries too hard to expand on the drama and torturous action experience, including probably the inclusion of unrealistically too many bad guys. Psychologically, the audience attachment and connection to the characters to the movie becomes fewer and fewer and a sense of frustration and disappointment increase. This movie is pretty much run of the mill action thriller that proceeds towards a rather predictable and over rather the top dramatic climax. What makes this movie a bit different is the precarious performance of the Mall boss who is both quite irritating, irascible yet somehow engaging with a good heart as well as a rather tender last few scenes. So instead of a six, this movie might be grudgingly a seven. [12/14/2018: After a second viewing, Security holds up much better and the consequential deaths don't appear to be that overly simplistic or unrealistic as first thought. The set up and the subsequent action scenes play out well. The pacing is good and the defensive actions are nicely thought up and carried through. A "solid" seven out of ten stars.] Like Die Hard, this movie apparently has repeated entertainment viewing value. The martial and lethal shooting scenes are reasonably well done, close but never actually going over the top. Even Ben Kingsley's poignant life story and later offer is quite tempting in some ways. The last few scenes of the movie are also unusually extended for most movies of this genre but in a nice, soft concluding way. Therefore, this movie is a continuing strong seven out of ten. [2/1/2019]. 7/10.

No F bombs, drug scenes, or blaring rap music and a pretty good story. There are more casualties on both sides which probably killed the potential BO. But besides very little plausibility, it was exciting throughout, Antonio Banderas has too much of an accent and was a bit hard to understand, so this killed his action hero future. The acting was good and Ben Kingsley did his usual bad guy role with aplomb. My major problem was the entire movie is filmed fairly dark. It is all at night and the mall scenes are mostly without full lighting. Kind of gets claustrophobic after awhile.

This production by Millennium Films (the Cannon Films of the 21st century) initially has some interest because it's clearly heavily influenced by two movies. The first and most obvious is "Die Hard", but it is clear the filmmakers got some inspiration from the John Carpenter movie "Assault on Precinct 13". But while this combination gives the movie an initially interesting start, it soon becomes clear that the filmmakers had little else to jazz up this tired movie. It takes forever for it to get going, and once it does, the energy level is surprisingly flat for the most part. Even the final confrontation is a letdown. The script is extremely predictable; you'll be a few steps ahead of the characters at any point. The combination of the flat screenplay and direction probably explain why stars Antonio Banderas and Ben Kingsley both phone in their performances. Oh, there are a few unintended laughs, like how the shopping mall interior is clearly a very cheap construction on a sound stage somewhere in Bulgaria. And I admit the movie, while being extremely predictable, is not really boring. But for the most part, the movie is utterly forgettable; it'll afterwards evaporate completely from your memory within hours.

Die Hard in a Shopping Mall (with a dash of Home Alone). It might not break any new ground, but it treads the old with a firm step, and Banderas has proven himself capable of devoting admirable energy to projects that might not deserve it on paper. Ben Kingsley appears to be trying for a soft Welsh accent with mixed results.

SECURITY is low on originality, medium on clashing fight scenes with guns and bombs and fire and a bit maudlin in the end when the father/daughter concept finally adds some human interest. Otherwise this 'made for action lovers' film, written by Tony Mosher and John Sullivan and directed by Alain Desrochers is a sidebar t the careers of tow fine actors – Antonio Banderas (in fine shape physically) and Ben Kingsley.

An ex-special services veteran (Antonio Banderas), down on his luck and desperate for work, takes a job as a security guard at a run-down mall in a rough area of town. He is introduced to the motley crew of security guards (Liam McIntyre, Gabriella Wright, Chad Lindberg, Jiro Wang). On his first night on the job, he opens the doors up to a distraught and desperate young girl Jamie (Katherine de la Rocha) who has escaped and fled from a hijacking of the Police motorcade that was transporting her to testify as a trial witness in a briefcase. Hot on her heels is psychopathic hijacker (Ben Kingsley), alongside his resourceful henchmen, who will stop at nothing to extract and eliminate their witness.

That is the bare bones of a story that is basically one of shooting, fire, explosions, murder, and all the other derring-do that builds a story based on the chased and the chaser. It gets repetitive but Banderas and Kingsley (and Liam McIntyre) are strong enough to hold or interest.