Friday, May 21, 2021

Those Who Wish Me Dead (Netflix)

 

Those Who Wish Me Dead (Netflix)

I first took notice of Angelina Jolie in the 1998 HBO film “Gia”. She gave an impressive performance. Then in 1999 she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for “Girl Interrupted”. Jolie is a serious accomplished actress. Then came Lara Croft, Maleficent and Salt. Everyone needs to pay the bills. This film is lacks luster and makes no demands on her acting skills. In this movie you know from the start who dies and who survives.

Jolie plays a hotshot fire fighter who is suffering from post-traumatic stress as a consequence of the death of three children during a forest fire. Later on she encounters a boy fleeing assassins who killed his father and are after him because he is carrying incriminating  information. It is a bit shady who the bad guy or organization is, but professional killers are the main antagonists. This film is supposed to be an action thriller, but it does not have the right vibes. There are no dare devil car chases like in the Fast and Furious movies or a Jason Statham round kicking a bad guy in the head. There is a lot of Jolie out running a forest fire.

The bad guys are brothers played by Aidan Gillen and Nicholas Hoult. Gillian is becoming the perennial bad guy as he proves in this movie. Nicholas Hoult is the grown up version of the sweet little boy in the film “About a Boy”. It is just incongruous to see him as a heartless assassin.

Let’s wait for Tomb Raider 4.

 

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