This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Bullies & Baggage
Production Values
Ex British black op Mason (Jason Statham) got burned on his
last assignment. He was a member of an elite squad of assassins
where he became a “precision instrument” in the hands
of his mentor spymaster Steven Blades. He'd been tasked with
debriefing an Iranian nuclear physicist offering him the promise
he'd be taken care of once he produced the goods. It went the way
of many a scheme like one in author Saul Bellow:
[T]his … struggle for survival makes people naïve. By this I mean their wishful fantasies are unchecked. You begin, in accordance with an unformulated agreement, to accept the terms, invariably falsified, on which the others present themselves. You deaden your critical powers. You stifle your shrewdness. Before you know it you are paying a humongous divorce settlement to a woman who had more than once declared that she was an innocent who had no understanding of money matters. (16)
Once the scientist was bled dry he was slated for elimination with extreme prejudice. Steven didn't like it when Mason demurred, putting his conscience above loyalty, so he put him on a multi- agency hit list. Mason went off the grid becoming a recluse in a derelict lighthouse on a wee Scottish island. A buddy from the Royal Marines brought him supplies in a trawler every month. His buddy's barely big enough orphaned niece Jesse (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) would row them in in a skiff for the last leg.
A gale brewing in the Hebrides
unceremoniously wrecks the trawler, killing the pilot, and
Jesse's boat gets swamped, too. Mason drags her to safety and
bandages her wound. When it gets infected, he goes to town, to a
pharmacy for medical supplies and to a ma & pop store for warm
clothes, children's size. Exiting the store he gets
photographed by a camera in the system and is pegged for a
“retinal match.” A hit squad is dispatched to take him
out, but they are no match for his training and preparation. What
follows is a man on the run “with baggage” followed by
a rogue squad, followed by the good guys who realize they'd made a
mistake, intercepted by a surprisingly well armed citizenry,
covered by the child with her hurried weapons training, and the
clueless police bringing up the rear. Lots of action ensues.
Ideology
Jesse cottons to Mason soon enough and
wants to throw in with him. Mason discourages her (“it
complicates things”,) though she has a point about his
reclusiveness. (Eccl. 4:9-12)
“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for
their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow:
but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to
help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can
one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand
him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
That
“they have a good reward for their labour” is evident
when Mason now has a “worthy opponent” to hone his
chess skills playing with her rather than just playing against
himself as he'd done before.
“If they fall, the one will lift up his fellow” is demonstrated at their needful home invasion when the householder gets the drop on Mason, and Jesse in turn gets the drop on him for a Mexican standoff (“Let's take it nice and easy.”) “But woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.” The householder's son had hid in a back room and called the (slow-arriving) cops. Didn't do him much good.
“Again, if two lie together, then they have
heat: but how can one be warm alone?” Mason pulled Jesse from
a cold grave, but her solo uncle succumbed to the briny deep.
“And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him.” Manafort (Bill Nighy) was some serious opposition to Mason, but Jesse chipped in and at least distracted him.
“And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” In the end Mason has to make a deal with the devil to have his charge, a “loose end,” provided for. Camal Shaw is a “violent trafficker” and not one he would ordinarily go to, but he's the only one with the juice to make Jesse disappear in an undisclosed big city. He's not going to act out of charity, but if Mason can get certain heavies off his back, he can accommodate.
Production Values
“” was directed by Ric Roman Waugh. It was written by Ward Parry. It stars Jason Statham, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, and Bill Nighy. Statham is an old hand at the action genre where he works his magic, Nighy well played some serious opposition, and young Breathnach was consistently a factor in play. MPA rated it R for violence and some language. This was an action movie without any frills. The music was fitting and the locale genuine. Runtime ≈ 1¾ hours.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
This is one for the serious action aficionado but it contains a running human interest story that should make it palatable to the ladies, too. Women also play some crucial official roles. I'd say go for it if you're not expecting any epic themes.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Edge of your seat action-packed. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Average special effects. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall movie rating: Four stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture was cited from the King James Version, Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.
Bellow, Saul. Ravelstein. Copyright © 2000 Saul Bellow. New York: The Viking Press, 2000. Print.
bibles.n7nz.org