Strange experience.

On the plus side - we have some excellent action, three engaging main actors, an actual plot (even if derivative and unsupported by a decent script), established director with very good form.

On the downside - the aforementioned weak script, cheap locations devoid of any character, an overwhelming stench of Video-on-Demand...

I've been a fan of Maggie Q for a very long time. This pays homage to her excellent work in Nikita more than any of her other roles. And she still has the goods.

Michael Keston is a pleasure to see but the action isn't sold, which leads to stunt doubles, and in the days of high-def filming, that is unsurvivable. It is clear and apparent even with extremely choppy editing trying to obscure it.

The major pitfall is the cheapness of the locations. The direction is still that of a very accomplished filmmaker. But 60fps and Eastern Europe doubling as London or Vietnam or wherever just reeks of low budget filmmaking.

It was however nice to just have the skeleton of an oldfashioned action film, despite it being let down by modern digital visuals.

I enjoyed the action. I didn't regret watching it. I was left underwhelmed by the script and final act.


6.5/10

Entertaining if not also kind of forgettable action-thriller. The three leads, Maggie Q, Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson, have some bad-ass scenes and there are some suspenseful scenes, but as a whole, didn't really think it's all that different from what has been seen before. In fact, I think 2018's Anna might've been a tad better.

The finale also was perplexing. They make a big deal on how hard it was to get onto an island yet they (Maggie Q and Jackson) just are there, no scenes on how.

That said, I did think Maggie Q and Michael Keaton were great together and Martin Campbell's direction was fine, although did far better work on GoldenEye and Casino Royale.

I think this is fine as a rental. Don't know how much replay value it has. **3.25/5**