"Promising but inconsistent."
The 9/11 tragedy is one of the most horrible events in modern
history and this served as inspiration for James McTeigue’s latest action spy
thriller film called Survivor. In
this movie, Milla Jovovich stars as Kate Abbott, a Foreign Service Officer whose
bitter memories of 9/11 urged her to take part in any action that prevents
terrorist plots into fruition. Playing her main nemesis is Pierce Brosnan as Nash
“The Watchmaker,” a skilled pay-to-hire bomb expert.
The film opens quite promisingly with two American soldiers
being caught in Afghanistan after surviving a helicopter crash. Though this
scene has that videogame-like quality with its minimal and poor setting, this
sets off an interesting premise. Using their dog tags, one of the men is
identified as a potential bargaining card.
Several months later, the US embassy in London becomes more rigorous
in approving visas to foreigners. Kate Abbott, the embassy’s new officer who is
watching out for gas and chemical specialists, quickly suspects visiting Romanian doctor Emil Balan (Roger Rees). Unknown to her, her office colleague Bill
Talbot (Robert Forster) is one of the bad guys and he and Emil are connected to
some terrorist force. Immediately, Kate Abbott becomes a target, particularly
by “The Watchmaker.”
Survivor has
certain predictability which surprisingly works in its advantage. Right from
the start, the enemies are already known and their sudden presence in any scene
excites tension and anticipation. The doubts and suspicions against Kate by
some US and British officers also provides that much needed conflict to make
the movie more thrilling.
The bomb scene, the enemies’ first attack, is quite intense
and horrifying. Incidentally, Kate is out somewhere and thus survives the
blast. This sets off a string of cat-and-mouse chases. In the process, Kate
becomes victim to social media charade as she is filmed holding a gun while an
enemy bleeds to death. After being hunted by both the good and the bad, in the
end, Kate succeeds in thwarting a terrorist attack in New York City.
Survivor has a
tight story and fast pacing. So much action and drama happened in a span of
only one and half hours, leaving us breathless and motionless. Like a Jack
Higgins’ novel, the movie revolves around a small cast, particularly around Kate
and The Watchmaker. However, this approach leaves the film with too little
dimensions. While actions center on the two main characters, all other figures
appear vague and inconsistent, making us doubtful of their motivations. For one,
there is no clear background on the terrorist group – how large it is and how influential
its people are. One thing for certain is that they are ambitious and possess
the required knowledge and technology. It is also unclear whether the British
officers running after Kate are connected with the enemies or they are simply
assholes.
Much of the film is also built on coincidence and instinct. It
is instinct that Kate located the enemies and their allies. It is coincidence that
she survived the bomb explosion and found out about their big plot. Some scenes
are also unconvincing and unrealistic (probably due to budget limitations). The
New York finale, contrary to the previous sequences, is too laid back. The human
traffic is light and security in the Square is just too loose that the
terrorists easily penetrated the area. In a disappointing way, the film ends
too abruptly with Kate throwing The Watchmaker off the building rooftop.
Survivor, like
its generic title, is too forgettable. Despite being built on an intriguing proposition,
it has not delivered the expected output. While its middle part is absolutely
thrilling, its conclusion is a huge anticlimax. Thankfully, editing has been
done well that the movie appears grander than it really is. Director McTeigue’s
masterpiece remains to be his 2006 epic comic adaptation V for Vendetta.
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