Rating of
2/4
Just another mediocre spy-thriller
ikkegoemikke - wrote on 08/31/17
"Send a car for my wife and flowers. And by flowers, I mean whatever it takes to keep me off the couch tonight."
Take any "Jason Bourne" episode, mix it with lets say a "Mission Impossible" or recently "Stratton" and add a little bit of humor. As a result you'll get something similar as "Unlocked". So, it isn't exactly original. It's entertaining, but it's also an inextricable tangle of intrigues. At one point you're wondering who can be trusted and who can't be. The film fits in perfectly with today's news. Every few months there's a terrorist attack by some extremist organization in Europe. I just hope this film won't cause some crack-brained organizations to get bad ideas.
Maybe it's me, but at times I didn't have a clue what the people concerned were talking about. Apparently, your level of intelligence should be very high to be able to function in the world of intelligence services as a secret agent. Sometimes conclusions are drawn and decisions are made at such a scary rate. The fight against terrorism is a difficult task for a reason. Is it possible that the vast majority of employees can't even follow the reasoning of their superior?
Noomi Rapace, who impressed me more in "Child 44" than in "Prometheus", is playing the experienced agent Alice Racine, who has a conscience problem after a terrorist attack in Paris. Due to an enormous guilt-feeling she leaves her job at MI5. And now she works for a social service which she uses as a cover to signal suspicious developments to MI5. Until she's summoned one day to question a terrorist suspect to get information about a planned attack. But soon, she realizes she got caught up in a hornet's nest where nobody can be trusted and with an impossible task waiting for her. On the one hand, she has to make sure she stays out of the hands of another organization with an entirely different agenda. And on the other hand, it's a race against the clock to make sure London won't suffer a chemical attack. Yes, it isn't boring for Alice.
The story on its own is actually a mess and sometimes quite difficult to follow. If you are a spy-thriller enthusiast and you have already seen a lot of movies from this genre, you won't find novelties that'll overwhelm you. The whole movie is a series of chases, short-lived but energetic action scenes and high-tech espionage behind the scenes. But, above all, the huge amount of plot turns will make it rather laughable than surprising. I would not even have been surprised if at the end the imam was an accomplice of some kind of candid camera program who announces that it was all just a joke. That's the level I'm talking about.
What else is there to admire? The performances of acclaimed famous film stars? The Swedish Noomi Rapace is perfect for this part as the female Jason Bourne. An intelligent, cold-blooded person who knows how to handle herself in this hard-core spy world. They were even able to convince Michael Douglas to play a small but not so insignificant role. The least impressive role was given to Orlando Bloom, who tries to bring some humor into the film with his heavy English accent and attitude. However, it is John Malkovich who steals the show as CIA chief Bob Hunter. His facial expression, that seemingly nonchalant smile and a moment of uncontrolled behavior during a video conference. A clear proof that one needs to be a bit insane to work for the intelligence service. But despite the excellent acting and the stars who appear on the screen, this movie can't avoid to get the label "mediocrity". It's just another spy thriller which is momentary entertaining but eventually will be forgotten.
More reviews here : http://bit.ly/2qtGQoc
