IN BRIEF: Standard but tense and well made action thriller.
JIM'S REVIEW: (RECOMMENDED) While I don't wish to send Angelina Jolie any negative vibes, I do want to tell her to choose a script worthy of her acting talents. This isn't it. It's a standard chase thriller with a child-in-danger story about a strong mother figure risking her all to protect her cub. Nothing original or engaging. No real stretch in the acting department either. It's Ms. Jolie as an action figure with movable parts, more in line with her roles from other tense thrillers like Salt or Wanted, both better vehicles.
She plays Hannah Faber, a loner and no-nonsense firefighter who is suffering from PTSD. One day while out on patrol, she finds a scared young boy alone in the fire-consuming Montana wildness. Connor (Finn Little) is being hunted by some evil men and this instant family must now bond and elude paid assassins to save themselves. Will she? What do you think? You don't mess around with Jolie!
What elevates this standard action thriller is the strong direction of Taylor Sheridan who creates a taut and gripping movie, despite a plot that is fairly predictable. Mr. Sheridan, along with with Charles Leavitt and writer Michael Koryta (whose novel from which this film is adapted), keep their screenplay moving at a nice clip and avoid most cliches and stereotypes rather successfully. Some illogical moments do pop up, but the capable cast keeps the level of suspense and excitement at full throttle.
Ms. Jolie and Mr. Little have a nice chemistry together. One hopes their characters survive all of the numerous and frequent perils that they encounter. Nicholas Hoult and Aidan Gillen are the heavies and both talented actors lay on the menace very thickly and become convincing villains. Jon Bernthal plays Ethan Sawyer, sheriff and Hannah's former boyfriend of Hannah, a trite movie conceit if there ever was one, but the actor pulls off this thankless role. Medina Senghore plays Allison, Ethan's loving and pregnant wife. Jake Weber has a relatively short role as Connor's father who starts the whole domino effect and Tyler Perry acts against type.
I suppose that Those Who Wish Me Dead is a diverting movie for its genre. I just wanted the film to be more inventive and less routine in its storytelling. Put me in the category as Those Who Wish for a Better Script. Still, as action thrillers go, this one is lively enough to entertain most moviegoers who are into the chase. (GRADE: B)
JIM'S REVIEW: (RECOMMENDED) While I don't wish to send Angelina Jolie any negative vibes, I do want to tell her to choose a script worthy of her acting talents. This isn't it. It's a standard chase thriller with a child-in-danger story about a strong mother figure risking her all to protect her cub. Nothing original or engaging. No real stretch in the acting department either. It's Ms. Jolie as an action figure with movable parts, more in line with her roles from other tense thrillers like Salt or Wanted, both better vehicles.
She plays Hannah Faber, a loner and no-nonsense firefighter who is suffering from PTSD. One day while out on patrol, she finds a scared young boy alone in the fire-consuming Montana wildness. Connor (Finn Little) is being hunted by some evil men and this instant family must now bond and elude paid assassins to save themselves. Will she? What do you think? You don't mess around with Jolie!
What elevates this standard action thriller is the strong direction of Taylor Sheridan who creates a taut and gripping movie, despite a plot that is fairly predictable. Mr. Sheridan, along with with Charles Leavitt and writer Michael Koryta (whose novel from which this film is adapted), keep their screenplay moving at a nice clip and avoid most cliches and stereotypes rather successfully. Some illogical moments do pop up, but the capable cast keeps the level of suspense and excitement at full throttle.
Ms. Jolie and Mr. Little have a nice chemistry together. One hopes their characters survive all of the numerous and frequent perils that they encounter. Nicholas Hoult and Aidan Gillen are the heavies and both talented actors lay on the menace very thickly and become convincing villains. Jon Bernthal plays Ethan Sawyer, sheriff and Hannah's former boyfriend of Hannah, a trite movie conceit if there ever was one, but the actor pulls off this thankless role. Medina Senghore plays Allison, Ethan's loving and pregnant wife. Jake Weber has a relatively short role as Connor's father who starts the whole domino effect and Tyler Perry acts against type.
I suppose that Those Who Wish Me Dead is a diverting movie for its genre. I just wanted the film to be more inventive and less routine in its storytelling. Put me in the category as Those Who Wish for a Better Script. Still, as action thrillers go, this one is lively enough to entertain most moviegoers who are into the chase. (GRADE: B)