The Vigilante

While the movie attempts to weave an intriguing narrative, it falls short in several areas. The plot holds promise, but it seems to be the sole focus, lacking depth in character development and other narrative elements.

The casting choices are puzzling; for instance, a character who is meant to be a young teenager is portrayed by an actor who appears significantly older. This discrepancy is jarring and detracts from the authenticity of the story.

Cinematography is another area where the movie struggles. The camera work is erratic, seemingly in an attempt to compensate for the actors' performances, which unfortunately, are riddled with errors.

The action sequences are over-the-top, with the protagonist defeating adversaries with ease, reminiscent of falling dominoes. However, a particular scene involving a female antagonist almost defeating the hero stands out as an exception, though it feels like a forced narrative twist.

Continuity errors are also present, particularly concerning a photograph that plays a pivotal role in the plot. The inconsistencies in how the photograph is handled by the characters are confusing and disrupt the flow of the story.

In conclusion, while the movie has its moments, it's marred by numerous flaws that make it difficult to watch without a critical eye. It's a plea to Hollywood to retain its unique storytelling charm and not drift into the melodramatic territory often associated with Bollywood productions.

Wanted to like this film, as it seems by the ratings a lot of people did, but it's so amateurish beyond belief.

Our hero, a lady with so many teeth she cannot actually close her mouth, is the usual war hero, expert at everything to do with warfare, of course.

Somehow her friend finds out where young girls are being housed (if it was that easy the cops would have already done it?), so they start breaking into these houses. No mask, no hood, no voice disguiser, nothing.

Amazingly, the cops talk to her about it. Wonder how they realised?

Everyone talks in a bizarre, muffled way, and I inevitably missed some of the dialogue.

In short, this has all been done before, only SO much better, so I really wouldn't bother if I were you.

It was good it started off a bit slow but it got good in the middle of the movie i cops really didnt do anything as to what was happening they were a joke i say its better to handle this situation by yourself cuz the cops dont do anything when they should be doing more so this stuff wouldn't be happening.

OK, I think the majority of bad reviews don't take into account that THE VIGILANTE is a low-budget indie film. Were these the best actors, not in some cases, but they weren't awful, either. I didn't expect them to be. But I thought most, at least, were committed to their roles. Given that, I thought it stood out from a lot of indies. Were the actors the best? Not, but they weren't horrible. The lead actress was capable and believable. It would have been easy for the filmmakers to push her too far into the "bad-ass female avenger." But they pulled back just enough to make her sympathetic and accessible. The other performers were fine. The youngest performers did surprisingly well. I was moved by the story and the ending. Did it strain credibility at time, sure, but what movie of this kind doesn't. In some ways, the limited budget probably kept this movie from becoming just another movie of its kind. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the fight scenes, which seemed to improve as the movie progressed. (Although, my biggest contention is that the protagonist's 13-year-old sister was played by an actress who looks twice as old as that. I was baffled that they were able to find really young girls for the supporting roles, but they could find an actual 13-year-old actress to play the sister???) Considering the limitations, this wasn't an awful movie.

I had never actually heard about this 2023 thriller titled "The Vigilante" prior to sitting down and watching it here in 2024. However, I must say that the movie's synopsis sounded interesting enough. Plus, the fact that it was a movie that I had never heard about, much less actually watched, of course I opted to give the movie a fair chance.

The storyline in "The Vigilante" was fair. It wasn't, however, an outstanding foray into a thriller with a human trafficking theme. Sure, it was watchable and entertaining enough, but at the same time writers Kara Myers and Lee Whittaker only managed to muster a somewhat generic script and storyline.

The movie is not without flaws, of course. And I have to say that the fact that Dan (played by Eric Pierce) could just sit down and effortlessly code a program to locate houses used for human trafficking was just ludicrous. Especially since with such an ability he would have been working for a high end government branch. It was just laughably stupid, not to mention lazy writing. And wouldn't police and law enforcement benefit tremendously from having such software?

The only familiar face on the cast list in this movie, for me, was actor Julien Cesario. The acting performances in "The Vigilante" were fair, I will say that much.

Watchable for what it was, "The Vigilante" just didn't stand out as being particularly impressive, inventive or memorable. It is hardly a movie that will grace my screen a second time. However, it should be said that there are far more compelling and entertaining movies out there with a human trafficking theme.

My rating of director Lee Whittaker's 2023 movie "The Vigilante" lands on a bland five out of ten stars.