Standoff

I honestly don't understand the really nasty reviews here. This is a very well directed thriller with some great acting from the leads & well worth a look. If you are fond of one location thrillers with a good build up of suspense & tension along with fine character development you'll enjoy it too. If you're looking for an action-packed thrill-a-minute flick this is not the movie for you. I loved the performances of all three leads - the little girl was excellent - and I thought the direction was exceptionally good - I look forward to seeing what the director can produce in the future as he develops. I have no idea why so many people these days think movies should be direct copies of reality - that's why they're movies. They're not going to be "real" - for that you need to pick up a documentary. That said, the premise of this movie, while requiring some suspension of disbelief, does not stray as far from believability as some of these reviews would have you believe. It's not brilliant or perfect but it's a good watch.

"Well, well, well. That man knows his guns. So do I."

As I said in my review about the film "Weaponized" : "I have a weak spot for low-budget, straight to DVD, B-movies" and occasionally I discover "a piddling, unknown and unloved movie, which surpasses some blockbusters in terms of content and design". "Standoff" is such a movie. An unpretentious film with a straight forward script. The makers don't waste too much time and introduce practically immediately a deadly, accurate assassin (Laurence Fishburne), who turns a modest funeral into a bloody massacre without batting an eye. His appearance reminded me a little of "The Terminator". But this time with a jet-black balaclava.

The only thing this professional, routinized killer didn't take into account, is Bird (Ella Ballentine). A skinny, shy girl with a camera around her neck serving as protection against and a window at the unjust world, who unwittingly takes a snapshot of the face of the killer. What follows is a chase because the murderer wants to clean up this last witness at all cost. An isolated farmhouse owned by Carter (Thomas Jane), an ex-soldier full of self-pity and remorse trying to forget his grief using booze, is the endpoint. Remorse because of an unfortunate accident that happened to his son. As a result his wife also left him. Bird showing up there might probably be interpreted by Carter as an opportunity to show a sense of responsibility for once.

And before you know it, those two ex-military are in the grip of a standoff. Sade, the assassin with enough firepower, installs himself on the ground floor, while Carter and Bird entrench themselves upstairs, only armed with a "20-gauge shotgun" and only one shell. And so the psychological warfare between the two rivals can start with Bird at stake. There's no lengthy intro or a detailed explanation. Even the multiple assassination at the beginning isn't explained or elucidated. This is in fact of secondary importance. The story develops rapidly at the beginning. Within 10 minutes you are fully aware what situation both men are in. There's the possibility that from there on it could become boring, monotonous and slow. However, the opposite is true.

Sade tries in a verbal manner (and also in other ways) to persuade Carter to turn in Bird, while Carter guards the staircase. The subsequent dialogs between these two are on the one hand provocative and offensive. But on the other hand they are also psychologically thought through. Fishburne is clearly in his element as the unscrupulous villain. It was a pleasure to see him again in a leading role (it's at least more impressive than his roles in "The Signal" and "The Colony"). Jane surprised me and this shows that it wasn't his fault that his acting in "Vice" was worthless, but indeed, that film was quite appalling. Not to say utter crap. Here Jane plays a perfectly balanced role as a tormented heap of misery, full of despair and weariness of life, who transforms into a responsible savior. And finally an honorable mention for Ella Ballentine who did great.

Even though this "home invasion" film wasn't very original and the storyline was quite simple, it still managed to captivate me. And even though the end was kind of predictable, I still wondered how it would eventually end up anyway. An additional advantage was the short playing time which in turn led to a proper pace. All in all, a fascinating film. Yet another proof that films that take place exclusively in one particular location, can also be entertaining. At least I didn't need to fight against sleep, as those two guys.

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If you are planning to see a western movie, you can skip "The hateful eight" (which in my opinion was crap) and see this instead. This movie is a modern time western in many ways including clothing, scenery and theme.

The direction of photography is very good. Artistic sometimes yet efficient. The music pad adds to the atmosphere without being in the way. The pace of the film is the appropriate. Not to hasty and certainly not boring.

But the major asset of the movie is the performance from the 2 leads. Laurence Fishburne takes his role seriously and portraying the villain with finesse. Thomas Jane looks good too and his performance is solid.

The plot it resembles that of a western. It is a little bit on the naive side but it works. The movie has emotions and suspense. Obviously I won't spoil you the ending but it might needed an extra (obvious?) scene that you might miss.

Overall: You don't need a budget made of millions to make a good movie. Good camera work. Good performances and directing and you have what it takes.

Just watched this on the Sony Movie Channel and to be fair they do pump out some good films almost as well as Film4 and this is no exception.

I have always liked Thomas Jane since I saw him in The Mist and many other films as he straddles the ability to fit in as an Action movie star but with the ability to handle the drama and romance softer side of acting which is no mean feat these days.

This movie is action packed full of gruesome violence but yet has a solid story and good characterization and is one of those movies set in a static confined location which is not an easy thing to accomplish by any director but Adam Alleca pulls it off with aplomb and deserves full credit for taking a basic story and making it into a riveting and engaging action/thriller.

I loved the surprise ending; it almost gets an extra star just for that but it deserves a very solid 7/10 stars from me as it was a most unexpected and enjoyable evenings movie viewing.

"The little lady has seen my face, now she's got to pay the price. Like everybody else. That's how it works." Sade (Fishburne) is an assassin with one rule, leave no witnesses. After taking care of who he was supposed to he sees a little girl. Not wanting to break his rule he follows her to the home of Carter (Jane). The two engage in a standoff over a little girl with neither willing to budge at all. It becomes a battle of wills with the little girl's life at stake. This is a movie that only works because of one thing. The acting. This easily could have become super cheesy, boring or unwatchable if the casting wasn't right. Luckily for the film, and for us, they got it right. Fishburne does a great job of playing a hard edge assassin without becoming too over the top or hokey. Jane does a great job of playing a veteran on the edge of losing everything and seeing this girl as his salvation. They turn the movie from a great half hour TV show idea into a full length movie that works. It does seem to drag and get repetitive at times, but overall this is a good movie that is worth your time because of the acting. I give this a B.