Sometimes the portents of doom are correct. Stratton had a bit of a traumatic journey to the screen and in many ways it is a surprise it made it all. The lead role was originally filled by Henry Cavill who, in retrospect, pulled out five days before filming was due to begin. The reason was officially listed as creative differences but you can interpret that in a number of ways. He was replaced by Dominic Cooper and the film script was presumably retooled to accommodate the change in lead actor. The fact the Cooper was only on board for two weeks prior to the start of principal photography obviously didn’t help the production and the finished product makes this all too apparent.
Stratton (Dominic Cooper) and his partner from the Special Boat Service (SBS) are on a mission to locate and destroy biochemical weapons at a facility in Iran. Right from the start the mission hits problems which culminate in the death of his partner and the ultimate failure to recover the prize. There is a mole at the SBS. Stratton has to try to work out who betrayed him while taking on a new partner and tracking down the man responsible for the loss of his friend and colleague.
Unfortunately there is nothing to recommend this film at all. It is a poor attempt at trying to match the success of the Bourne franchise but on a much smaller budget and a lack of creativity. Director Simon West has some pedigree with action movies but even he struggled with this movie. It’s generic and totally safe. There is nothing here that you haven’t seen a hundred times before. Given that this is based on a novel and the initial thought was to create a franchise around it makes it all the more disappointing.
The story is the first and biggest problem. There is absolutely no tension during the film and the attempts at character development are very poor. It is like the film was made by a committee. The lead character of Stratton is two dimensional and has no development at all during the movie. I don’t think the wooden portrayal is the fault of Dominic Cooper. He is a fine actor but the material here badly lets him down.
The film falls into the trap of using the supporting cast only to move the plot on. The first partner is dispatched quickly leading to grief, anger and then determination towards revenge. His new partner is, of course, a bit of a rebel but you know that he will pull it together in the end. Why Derek Jacobi is involved in this is a mystery. Perhaps he had nothing else to do that week. He coasts in the supporting role of the father figure to Stratton and, like the rest of the cast, is there to move things along. In a ten minute appearance Connie Neilson almost undoes all the good work she did in Wonder Woman. She has a weird English accent that sounds like nothing I have heard before. A truly bizarre choice.
for an action film it has pretty poor action scenes. Now I know the film had a limited budget but the execution of the final chase was really bad. There are so many talented stunt coordinators out there so it is all the worse when we are presented with a scene that is neither thrilling or even interesting. for a film that is promoting itself as an action movie this is a major problem.
One to avoid, I think.
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