Acts of Vengeance (2017) Directed by Isaac Florentine
One of the things I never understood was how, why and when Antonio Banderas stopped being relevant and stopped to appear in decent movies. He was quite the star and presence back in the day, capable of handling action, adventure as well as drama. His movies often weren't just good, but mostly also very enjoyable to watch. Besides, he always had a great screen presence and undeniable has some real charisma to him, with his sensual look and accent. So what is he up to nowadays? Mostly low-key stuff such as this movie, while still being very much Antonio Banderas. He just stopped appearing in awesome stuff though, which is a real shame and it is doubtful that this movie is going to mark his great comeback.
Like most movies, this one isn't particularly bad, but it isn't one you going to remember much, a couple of weeks after seeing it. It is not just formulaic, but also a movie that fails to make much of an impression with anything. Not with its story, not with its characters, not with its action. It is a bad of an odd and unsuccessful mishmash of different genres, that never gel.
It is not quite thrilling enough for a thriller, not action-packed or well paced enough for an action flick and it lacks all of the right emotions and credible enough developments for a drama. I also can't really tell what this movie was going for. At times its more of a stupid action-flick, while at others it tries to be like a surprising thriller and at others it is definitely trying to throw some more emotions and drama into the mix. There is never a good enough balance for anything to ever work out successful enough.
It is especially bad and disappointing how this movie never seems to have a good- or very pleasant flow to it. Things never progress naturally enough and the movie too often either goes too fast or too slow with its story. At times it feels like the story is moving forward too fast with things, which goes at the expense of its credibility and emotions, while at others it feels like the movie comes at a standstill.
The main character also never really works out because of this. It just doesn't feel very natural or convincing how the the Banderas character goes from being an office worker to being an action hero, capable of taking down any enemy, with confidence and without any fear regardless of his size or weapons that he is carrying. The character never goes through any convincing enough transitions, which again is mostly due to the absence of good emotions and a solid enough pace. Things mostly just happen in this movie, without having much of an effect on you, in terms of making you feel engaged or emotionally involved with anyone or anything that is happening on the screen.
But really, it is never a truly terrible movie to watch neither. It is just incredibly bland and mostly very predicable as well. This movie hardly offers any surprises and it also isn't trying very hard to knock you out of your socks with anything. It also totally fails to grab you, which is a big part of the reason why this movie is ultimately nothing more but an extremely forgettable one.
Not a movie that I would ever recommend to anyone.
5/10
Watch trailer
Like most movies, this one isn't particularly bad, but it isn't one you going to remember much, a couple of weeks after seeing it. It is not just formulaic, but also a movie that fails to make much of an impression with anything. Not with its story, not with its characters, not with its action. It is a bad of an odd and unsuccessful mishmash of different genres, that never gel.
It is not quite thrilling enough for a thriller, not action-packed or well paced enough for an action flick and it lacks all of the right emotions and credible enough developments for a drama. I also can't really tell what this movie was going for. At times its more of a stupid action-flick, while at others it tries to be like a surprising thriller and at others it is definitely trying to throw some more emotions and drama into the mix. There is never a good enough balance for anything to ever work out successful enough.
It is especially bad and disappointing how this movie never seems to have a good- or very pleasant flow to it. Things never progress naturally enough and the movie too often either goes too fast or too slow with its story. At times it feels like the story is moving forward too fast with things, which goes at the expense of its credibility and emotions, while at others it feels like the movie comes at a standstill.
The main character also never really works out because of this. It just doesn't feel very natural or convincing how the the Banderas character goes from being an office worker to being an action hero, capable of taking down any enemy, with confidence and without any fear regardless of his size or weapons that he is carrying. The character never goes through any convincing enough transitions, which again is mostly due to the absence of good emotions and a solid enough pace. Things mostly just happen in this movie, without having much of an effect on you, in terms of making you feel engaged or emotionally involved with anyone or anything that is happening on the screen.
But really, it is never a truly terrible movie to watch neither. It is just incredibly bland and mostly very predicable as well. This movie hardly offers any surprises and it also isn't trying very hard to knock you out of your socks with anything. It also totally fails to grab you, which is a big part of the reason why this movie is ultimately nothing more but an extremely forgettable one.
Not a movie that I would ever recommend to anyone.
5/10
Watch trailer
