Director Philip Noyce and actor Pierce Brosnan were at their professional peaks about thirty years ago. Safe, dependable bets to handle medium to big projects and keep anxious studio heads calm, but missing anything distinctive in their work. Occasionally, Noyce went out on a limb (see RABBIT-PROOF FENCE/’02), but by-the-numbers Tom Clancy adaptations and dud sex thrillers more common. And Brosnan? Think of his career this way: while certainly not the worst James Bond, he certainly was the least memorable. Their past likely making this diminutive revenge actioner (from Victor Gischler’s novel, an Elmore Leonard manqué of a book) seem more satisfying than it might otherwise be. Still crud, but likeable crud. Brosnan (sporing a come-and-go North Florida accent), is hitman & fixer to physically & mentally failing mob boss James Caan (his final role). Caught in the middle of a gang war after a new partner blows a rubout; the partner’s ex (sadder-but-wiser Morena Baccarin, super!) wants the $50 thou he owed her; one of Caan’s deputies about to take over Caan’s territory; and bodies dropping like flies shot thru the head. The film surprisingly gory. Just the moment for Cupid to show up for 70-something Brosnan and 40-something Baccarin. Noyce gets a lot out of basics (car chases, coastal roads & glaring sunlight; action meeting immovable object; logistical complications; Brosnan’s tarnished looks. All told, I’d pick this over peak Noyce or Brosnan for something with some distinctive, if borrowed, flavor.
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: *Noyce’s lack of distinctness landing only one other write-up on this site, THE QUIET AMERICAN/’02. And that post largely leaning toward another version of the story. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-quiet-american-1958-2002.html
No comments:
Post a Comment