Acts of Vengeance
is a ham-fisted but satisfying revenge thriller about a lawyer
(Antonio Banderas) searching for his family’s killer. With
this, director Isaac
Florentine continues to revert to his old style
of producing simple vehicles for any action hero he can get his hands
on. The simplicity
might just
be a matter of the movie
failing to
live
up to its artistic
aspirations, but the result is an enjoyable little brawler with a
touch
of class.
One
of the story’s
selling points is Banderas taking
a vow of silence for the
duration of his quest, but
this is undercut by (1) not happening until after the first 30
minutes and (2) him continuing to narrate the story throughout.
Nevertheless, our star
is well-utilized here, conveying intensity and performing amazingly
well in the fight scenes, particularly in
his showdown with Karl Urban.
Tim Man is quickly becoming
one of the best fight
choreographers in history, showing that he can make anybody look
their absolute best.
Socially,
the movie is very critical of cops. I don’t think this was the
makers’ intent, but the police are roundly portrayed as either
incompetent, apathetic, or murderously vindictive – justifying the
hero’s vigilante status. There’s also an attempt to paint
Banderas’ character as an immoral, get-anyone-off-at-any-cost
sort of attorney, but because this is only stated but not seen, the
balance the filmmakers sought just isn’t there. Personally, I don’t
mind.
Acts of Vengeance
is a worthy purchase
purchase for fans of early Florentine, before Scott Adkins became
his golden boy, and
also a strong initiation for Antonio Banderas into the martial arts
genre
Acts of
Venegance
(2017)
Directed
by
Isaac Florentine (Undisputed
series)
Written
by
Matt Venne (White
Noise 2: The Light)
Starring
Antonio Banderas (El
Mariachi
series),
Paz Vega (Sex
and Lucia),
Karl Urban (Star
Trek
trilogy),
Johnathan Schaech (Legends
of Tomorrow)
Cool
costars:
Raicho Vasilev (Spartacus
series) plays a Russian
combatant,
while director Isaac Florentine and choreographer Tim Man play
martial art instructors.
Content
warning:
Police brutality, violence towards women, implied child murder,
implied
child sexual abuse
Copyright
Stoic Productions, Inc. / Lionsgate
B-Movie Dragons 