Road House (2024)

Direction: Doug Liman
Country: USA

Directed by Doug Liman and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Road House is a shabby, deeply predictable remake of the 1989 original film, which starred Patrick Swayze in the same role. The action is relocated to the Florida Keys, where Dalton (Gyllenhaal), a former UFC fighter with a troubled past and anger issues, is hired as a bouncer in a chaotic roadhouse plagued by violence.

The film begins with a stylized video game aesthetics and ends as an action-packed idiocy led by a protagonist with absolutely nothing valuable to say. Gyllenhaal already shown that he's better than this type of material, while Connor McGregor - our hero’s fiercest rival -  is simply ridiculous in a film that deteriorates by the minute. 

The plot, penned by Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry, is painfully dull, riddled with ludicrous double-crosses and poorly executed action sequences that feel artificially enhanced by excessive CGI. Those flashy scenes involving boats are a blatant example. Hence, lacking creativity in the plotting mechanisms, the film seems determined to hit us over the head with acres of clichés. 

Road House is a monotonously by-the-numbers film where even the punches ring false. It's wiser to steer clear of this remake and seek out decent entertainment elsewhere.

Fast Charlie (2023)

Direction: Phillip Noyce
Country: USA 

Directed by Phillip Noyce, known for films like Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) and The Quiet American (2002), Fast Charlie is an old-school action crime thriller that incorporates elements of romance, creating a contrast with its unremittingly violent scenes. Adapted from Victor Gischler’s novel Gun Monkeys, the film maintains a straightforward narrative, offering instant firmness and watchability. And there’s this sly humor that venomously assesses the lack of morality in the Southern mob lands.

Pierce Brosnan takes on the role of Charlie Swift, a hitman loyal to Stan (James Caan in his last role), an aging mob boss in Biloxi, Mississippi, for over 40 years. When a rival boss (Gbenga Akinnagbe) from New Orleans arrives, leaving a trail of death, Charlie is tasked with avenging the losses. He ends up teaming up with his crush, Marcie Kramer (Morena Baccarin), whose ex-husband was targeted by Charlie.

Sometimes ferocious, sometimes funny, occasionally feeling routine, Fast Charlie is an ambitious adaptation by Richard Wenk, offering a taste of 1980s action flicks, where a hero like Charlie could be played by Charles Bronson or Chuck Norris. 

Noyce's no-frills approach to the story is an asset, eschewing sensationalist tactics. Still, you may find yourself wishing less obvious, more demanding situations and a more substantial result. It could use a lot more discipline in key moments, but the nature of the story naturally supplies the required energy to keep us engaged regardless the predictability of the plot. For all that, Fast Charlie is a mildly entertaining little crime thumper that sufficiently delivers on its genre expectations.

How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2023)

Direction: Daniel Goldhaber
Country: USA 

Marked by radical activism, the action thriller How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a relatively successful adaptation of the book of the same name by Swedish author/researcher Andreas Malm. For the screenplay of his sophomore feature, director Daniel Goldhaber teamed up with Ariela Barer, who also stars, and Jordan Sjol, opting for a handheld camera to intensify the most stressful scenes. 

The plot follows a group of extreme environmental activists who decide to sabotage an oil pipeline in Western Texas, causing severe damage without harming people. All members of this group have their own motives and beliefs, which are further clarified by flashbacks. Their grounds for protesting are strong, but the question persists: is it justifiable to fight back with violence? Moral consciousness opens the debate on the acceptable limits of ecological activism. 

Blending French new wave and Hollywood elements of the ’80s, the film, shot in 16mm, puts on airs while drawing from western and heist film genres. You kind of know how it will play out, but it's an elucidative close-up of destructive behavior in the name of a good cause. Terrorists or saviors of the world? 

Regardless the answer, the film would need more narrative development, a stronger staging, and deeper character insight to fully satisfy. The tension builds up right from the start, and the story flies at full speed, electrifying everything around its path. And yet, this subversive audacity gives way to different feelings as the events unfold in a low-key manner. In the end, it falls short of the expectations, getting a few holes below Kelly Reichardt’s Night Moves (2013), which tackles the same topic with a higher level of competence.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Direction: Christopher McQuarrie
Country: USA

Awesomely scripted, the seventh installment of Mission Impossible franchise, is neither unworthy nor mind-blowing. It features its star, Tom Cruise, in top form, as super-spy Ethan Hunt, who, this time around, fights a ghost from his past - the terrorist Gabriel (Esai Morales) - and a metaphysical Entity that, as a destructive AI parasite, undermines digital communications and threats humanity. The secret to avoiding its propagation is to find the other half of a cruciform key with the help of old IMF teammates, Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), and an unexpected new partner and incorrigible thief, Grace (Hayley Atwell).

Director Christopher McQuarrie directs this well-calibrated, fast-paced action romp with panache, taking in typical car and motorcycle chases, and extending them to an uncontrolled train - the famous Orient Express - crammed with enemies. Although every threatening occurrence is solved last minute with an excess of coincidence and implausibility, the good outweighs the bad via its sense of adventure, ranging motion and thrilling tone. It is escapist entertainment with no fainting spells. Nothing more, nothing less. 

Meeting the canons of the saga while taking the form of an artful spectacle, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One was the most expensive and longest film of the series, but is far from being an extraordinary achievement. Fans can expect Part Two to arrive in 2024.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

Direction: James Mangold
Country: USA

In the fifth installment of the widely popular Indiana Jones franchise, our eponymous adventurer (Harrison Ford) is retired, solitary and aging. However, he makes a final effort to adapt to a jumbled new world where even his young goddaughter, Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), becomes an art smuggler addicted to cash. She operates with the backing of a smart kid, Teddy (Ethann Isidore), who can even pilot a plane without ever being inside one. The three join forces to prevent an old Nazi rival, Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), from stealing an invaluable relic. 

At 154 minutes, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny lacks a dramatic arc matching its length, being flat in the ideas and mechanical in the moves. Just like has been happening with the majority of Marvel spin-offs, there’s an attempt to overcome artistic laziness with technical prowess, which makes numerous action scenes feel insipid. Thus, we get that strange impression that Steven Spielberg - the director of all previous installments and just a producer here - would make this film more adventurous and entertaining than James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma, 2007; Logan, 2017; Ford v Ferrari, 2019). 

Hence, there are only hints of the old good salad but lots of mediocre dressing on this plate. The uninspired plotting comes with banal dialogue, while the action scenes, despite fast-paced, are pretty unimaginative regardless if they occur on land, air or water. Unless you have a thing for Ford, you're better off discarding this fun-free episode that typifies today’s obtuse contemporary movie culture.

Hypnotic (2023)

Direction: Robert Rodriguez
Country: USA

Director Robert Rodriguez made a name for himself in the ‘90s with rowdy, bloody movies such as El Mariachi (1992), Desperado (1995), and From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). His new release, Hypnotic, flagrantly misses the grip and frisson required for a solid thriller. 

A sixth sense plays a key factor in a story that doesn’t hold up; the chemistry between Ben Affleck and Alice Braga is bland; and Rodriguez directs with a heavy hand. Thus, the film never quite gels into a cohesive cinematic experience, and is, far too often, simply boring and too inconsistent to entertain.

Affleck is David Rourke, a tough police detective whose daughter was abducted in a park. Through therapy, he spent considerable time dealing with trauma and guilt, and was finally considered apt to return to duty. While investigating a series of mind-bending robberies, he finds out that the criminals behind them are strangely connected with the kidnapping of his daughter and a shady governmental program. Still, the mission to find her would be impossible without the help of psychic Diana Cruz (Braga). 

Aggressively formulaic, the film is stitched with clichés and implausibilities. Maybe if in the hands of David Cronenberg or Christopher Nolan, this story - co-written with Max Borenstein (Godzilla, 2014; Worth, 2020) - would have a different appeal. Hypnotic is as misleading as everything you see on the screen. I couldn’t help feeling bluffed in the end, sadly realizing how empty this experience was.

Master Gardener (2023)

Direction: Paul Schrader
Country: USA

In recent years, American filmmaker Paul Schrader has been dedicated to portraying lonely men paying for sins of the past, who are ironically presented with a chance of forgiveness and redemption. It happened with the nearly masterpiece First Reformed (2017) and the just tolerable The Card Counter (2021). Fitting seamlessly into this group, Master Gardener is the weakest of the three as it goes from a promisingly obscure opening to a decrease of solutions that turn it uninteresting and clumsy.

Joel Edgerton is Narvel Roth, an accomplished gardener with a violent past of racial hate and crime. He was "rescued" by and works for the wealthy Mrs. Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver), with whom he maintains a casual affair. When the latter asks him to take her estranged, mixed-blood 20-year-old grandniece, Maya (Quintessa Swindell), as an apprentice, Narvel’s peaceful life changes drastically. Their age gap is not an obstacle for them to falling in love, and that comes with a price. 

Despite the authentic rotgut flavor, the film has a one-take feel about it, being buried in a clunky framework that, not dancing with originality, rarely cracked me up. The frustrating Master Gardener brings a message of inclusivity and redemption but forgets the thrills, never going far beyond the basic set-up. To add fuel to the fire, the acting couldn’t be more stiff and the gardening descriptions, with all their obvious allegories, more tedious. The silly conclusion only confirms the miswriting of Schrader, whom we definitely prefer cynical and bolder. Better luck next time!

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

Direction: Chad Stahelski
Country: USA

The fourth installment in the John Wick franchise is pelted with gratuitous violence, far-fetched action scenes, and dialogue marred by triviality. Over nearly three hours, we follow Wick (Keanu Reeves) - the perpetual killer turned ‘excommunicado' by the High Table - fighting for his freedom.

In this episode, director and former stuntman Chad Stahelski takes the acrobatics too far, making almost impossible to count the number of stray bullets wasted in confrontations with numerous Table vassals commanded by the unrestrained and sadistic Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård). His main opponents here are his former ally turned enemy, Caine (Donnie Yen); a mysterious tracker who goes by the name of Mr. Nobody (Shamier Anderson); and Killa Harkan (Scott Adkins is unrecognizable), the head of the German Table. 

Using multiple settings - from New York to Osaka to Berlin and then, finally, Paris - Stahelski included long and repetitive action scenes that don’t make the film any better since the script’s infinite roundabouts are terribly limited. It all turns ridiculous in this endless killing saga with absent thrills and not much to tell. 

By trading brains for bullets and characters for puppets, the director made the worst possible choices for this exhausting fourth chapter. I was hoping this one would be a definitive wrap up of Wick as a renegade. But no, it seems that a first spin-off to the John Wick films - directed by Len Wiseman (Underworld, 2003; Total Recall, 2012) and titled Ballerina - is on its way. Taking into account the director's style and past work, the focus should remain on the box-office, not on a clever script with acceptable perspectives.

Sisu (2023)

Direction: Jalmari Helander
Country: Finland 

In its 90 minutes of butchery and greed, Sisu permeates the constant hyperbolic violent scenes with surprising comedic infusions. Told in seven chapters, the story - set during Finland’s Lapland War and about a lone, “immortal” former commando turned gold digger - is immoderate in tone and embellished with a lot of cartoonish Tarantino-like pulp. Although technically competent, we are pushed into the ridicule of overwrought action sequences and a notorious inability to aim higher than the basics. 

Jormi Tomilla, who worked with the Finnish director Jalmari Helander in his two previous features (Rare Exports, 2010; Big Game, 2014), was perfect for the role. Some of his scenes are painful to watch but one keeps interested in this scarred, silent old soldier whose wounds heal spectacularly fast - yes, like a superhero! That’s until the arrival of a terrible final chapter packed with such implausible situations that you can’t help feeling a bit dumb. 

The menacing goth score by Juri Seppä and Tuomas Wäinölä enhances the dehumanizing brutality of war in a film where any thoughtfulness that could still exist is rapidly washed away in blood. The film will likely make the day of those fond of violence, but should be superfluous for audiences expecting cleverer plots.

Creed III (2023)

Direction: Michael B. Jordan
Country: USA 

Creed III is the third installment in the Creed boxing film series and the ninth in the Rocky franchise. Actor Michael B. Jordan, here promoted to director, tries to impose his own style but couldn’t eradicate some of the exhausted formulas that marked the Rocky saga. 

In this chapter - without Sylvester Stallone in the cast - Adonis Creed (Jordan) retires from boxing in glory, dedicating his time to family and the boxing academy he runs with Tony ‘Little Duke’ (Wood Harris). They keep busy preparing and promoting their undefeated world champion, Felix Chavez (played by the former welterweight champion José Benavidez in his debut acting role). Life is good until Adonis’ ambitious childhood friend, ‘Diamond Dame’ Anderson (Jonathan Majors), is released from prison after 18 years. Surprisingly, and despite his age, he asks for a chance to fight for the title. 

Even with some adrenaline rush occurring inside the ring, there’s no attribute that stands out from the common lot. Repeated clichés and melodramatic bait are found in a plot that slowly unravels with each implausible turn, making Creed III excessively artificial. 

Many of Jordan’s options in the plot and direction are questionable. Take for example his decision to mute the sound and make the audience disappear during the final clash. It just removed all the energy built before, curbing the enthusiasm for the rest of the fight. What really concerned me was his inability to set this work apart from the better films that inspired it.

Nothing really motivates us, both emotionally and scenario-wise, and many will throw in the towel. Adonis, maybe it’s time to really hang up the gloves!

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Direction: James Cameron
Country: USA

Avatar: the Way of Water, the sequel to Avatar (2009) and the second installment of a series of five, was again co-written and directed by James Cameron (The Terminator, 1984; Titanic, 1997). The events in this episode occur more than a decade after the first story, and tells how Jake Sulli (Sam Worthington) and his united family work collectively to beat an eternal human rival, the recombinant Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). 

The film goes for a broader canvas - with a lot of technology - and adopts a Star Wars side that isn’t always favorable. Even with a strong dramatic center rooted in family, survival and environment, this is a blatant example where the visual spectacle (it can dazzle but also fatigue) swallows up an unexceptional story.

The sequel starts awfully, charged with artificial visuals and heavy content, but gains some tract along the way, becoming slightly more compelling when the action moves to the sea. This particularity offers Cameron a new playground and visual exploration from the point of view of colors, textures and fluidity of the scenes. The beautiful friendship between Jake’s younger son, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), and Payakan, an outcast Tulkun, brings the best moments to the screen. All the rest of it is more of the same in a tiresome film that suffers from an extended duration, repetitive messages, and clichéd dialogues.