I'm sure almost everyone who saw this was expecting something different than what this movie delivered, me included, and anyone who just wanted a typical Stathom style action movie wouldn't be wrong to be disappointed. This is why the review are all over the place. Me and the GF decided to go on a Stathom-spree and watch as many Stathom movies as we can. We obviously expected an ass-kicking action film, but what we got instead was a great change of pace that we both really enjoyed.
This is not an action movie, it's a drama that has some action. It's not a good action movie, so people who wanted action won't really like this. That's not to say the action scenes are bad, far from it, there just isn't that many of them.
The action serves as sort of a bait-and-switch to draw you in to what you think will be a typical ass kicking Statha-thon, but what you get instead is a deeply dramatic and emotionally gritty experience that uses action as a way to deepen the plot, which centers around a veteran suffering from PTSD wrapped in guilt over his wartime actions, homelessness, and alcoholism as he drinks to numb the pain and dull his combative instincts.
This movie is light on plot, heavy on depth, and that is especially true for the characters. The woman that plays the nun does an amazing job of making her internal dilemma seem very real and lived in. If you saw this movie without knowing who Jason Stathom was, you could be forgiven for thinking the nun is the main character because she is so well realized and well acted. At first, she is very reserved as you would expect a nun to be, but quickly cracks in her resolve start to show, and at first those cracks feels a little out of place since it doesn't feel very nun-like; but when you learn her back story it make her demeanor seem totally believable. As an American, I am not familiar with her as an actress at all and I found her to be incredibly captivating. Her performance was absolute fantastic.
Stathom does an excellent job as well, and his sullen style works very well here. Yes this movie gives him a chance to show he is a good actor outside of an action context, but it also builds on his strengths by putting him in a role that is very well suited to his style. An outcast who doesn't trust the world after what it did to him.
After reading some of the negative reviews, it's like they came from people who saw a different movie. I have a few theories on to why there is such a disconnect with some people. For one, the trailers make it look like a standard action movie which it really isn't, so right off the bat it sets up the wrong expectation. Another reason is that the two main characters are filled with both trauma and guilt, which are not feelings everyone can easily relate to, and this movie doesn't hold anyone's hand along the way. If you don't understand or can't relate to any of the deeply negative feeling the characters experience, you probably won't like this movie because you won't really get it. One could argue the movie could have been longer to better explore/explain these feelings, but I found the pacing to be perfect. If you understand what these characters are feeling based on what they've been through, you don't need much explanation and if you don't then probably no amount of explaining will really make it clear. In that sense, this movie isn't for everyone, but for people who can connect with the characters their depth will feel very visceral and impressive.
Redemption/Hummingbird is truly a masterpiece. Somehow it's much more than the sum of its parts. It feels dark yet romantic. Gritty yet warm, tragic and uplifting. A true gem, and one I will remember for a long time.
This is not an action movie, it's a drama that has some action. It's not a good action movie, so people who wanted action won't really like this. That's not to say the action scenes are bad, far from it, there just isn't that many of them.
The action serves as sort of a bait-and-switch to draw you in to what you think will be a typical ass kicking Statha-thon, but what you get instead is a deeply dramatic and emotionally gritty experience that uses action as a way to deepen the plot, which centers around a veteran suffering from PTSD wrapped in guilt over his wartime actions, homelessness, and alcoholism as he drinks to numb the pain and dull his combative instincts.
This movie is light on plot, heavy on depth, and that is especially true for the characters. The woman that plays the nun does an amazing job of making her internal dilemma seem very real and lived in. If you saw this movie without knowing who Jason Stathom was, you could be forgiven for thinking the nun is the main character because she is so well realized and well acted. At first, she is very reserved as you would expect a nun to be, but quickly cracks in her resolve start to show, and at first those cracks feels a little out of place since it doesn't feel very nun-like; but when you learn her back story it make her demeanor seem totally believable. As an American, I am not familiar with her as an actress at all and I found her to be incredibly captivating. Her performance was absolute fantastic.
Stathom does an excellent job as well, and his sullen style works very well here. Yes this movie gives him a chance to show he is a good actor outside of an action context, but it also builds on his strengths by putting him in a role that is very well suited to his style. An outcast who doesn't trust the world after what it did to him.
After reading some of the negative reviews, it's like they came from people who saw a different movie. I have a few theories on to why there is such a disconnect with some people. For one, the trailers make it look like a standard action movie which it really isn't, so right off the bat it sets up the wrong expectation. Another reason is that the two main characters are filled with both trauma and guilt, which are not feelings everyone can easily relate to, and this movie doesn't hold anyone's hand along the way. If you don't understand or can't relate to any of the deeply negative feeling the characters experience, you probably won't like this movie because you won't really get it. One could argue the movie could have been longer to better explore/explain these feelings, but I found the pacing to be perfect. If you understand what these characters are feeling based on what they've been through, you don't need much explanation and if you don't then probably no amount of explaining will really make it clear. In that sense, this movie isn't for everyone, but for people who can connect with the characters their depth will feel very visceral and impressive.
Redemption/Hummingbird is truly a masterpiece. Somehow it's much more than the sum of its parts. It feels dark yet romantic. Gritty yet warm, tragic and uplifting. A true gem, and one I will remember for a long time.