BEFORE: I didn't mention last week's earthquake, because for me it was a non-event. Just another thing (blackout, terrorist attack) for me to keep working through. But this Hurricane Irene is another matter. So far we've been high and dry, but if our power goes out, I won't be able to watch films or post reviews - fortunately I want to end this year's chain in mid-October, not early October, so right now there's an extra week built into the schedule. If the hurricane passes and I maintain my schedule, though, I can take a week off in Sept. for NYC Craft Beer Week - it will be hard to keep both a movie-a-day and a beer dinner-a-day chain going at the same time.
Anyway, I got this movie in before the worst of the storm - this will end the spy/terrorist chain, start up a Richard Gere chain, and send a Birthday SHOUT-out to Jack Black (last seen in "King Kong"), who has a small role here. Linking from last night's film, both Angelina Jolie and Jack Black did voice roles in "Shark's Tale" AND "Kung Fu Panda".
THE PLOT: An imprisoned IRA sniper is freed to help stop a brutal, seemingly "faceless" assassin from completing his next job.
AFTER: This apparently is something of a remake, based loosely on the 1973 film "The Day of the Jackal", which is not on my list.
This is one of those "free a criminal to catch a criminal" plots - an IRA terrorist (I told you I'd get back to the IRA) is released from jail to help the FBI track down an international assassin targeting a government official in the U.S. It's notable that in the scene where the assassin is hired, the target's name is never mentioned, nor does the camera show the target's picture. That seemed a little contrived, a bit of a tip that a "gotcha" moment might be coming later on.
But that was my only complaint, I didn't catch a lot of the plotholes that were mentioned on the IMDB page, so I can't hold the film accountable for them. A good amount of action, plus an interesting look inside the mind of an assassin as he makes his plans.
I wonder, if you're a name actor, whether it's better to play the bad guy, or the not-so-bad guy helping to catch the bad guy.
This film had the best ending of the week - and is just crying out for a sequel.
Also starring Richard Gere (last seen in "Chicago"), Bruce Willis (last seen in "Cop Out"), Sidney Poitier, Diane Venora (last seen in "Ironweed"), J.K. Simmons (last seen in "The Cider House Rules"), Tess Harper (last seen in "Silkwood").
RATING: 6 out of 10 sailboats
No comments:
Post a Comment