5 Reasons You Should Skip 'Dead Man Down'
An American neo-noir crime thriller written by J.H. Wyman, Dead Man Down marks the shoreside debut of Danish director Niels Arden Oplev. Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace star as Victor and Beatrice, two peas of a totally different pod. The film is Oplev's first since wowing audiences with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which also starred Rapace alongside Daniel Craig.
While the movie hasn't broken any box office records, it has enjoyed healthy support from audiences. We had a chance to screen it before its release, yet couldn't find anything that could save this from flop status. With that in mind, these are 5 Reasons Why You Should Skip Dead Man Down.
While the movie hasn't broken any box office records, it has enjoyed healthy support from audiences. We had a chance to screen it before its release, yet couldn't find anything that could save this from flop status. With that in mind, these are 5 Reasons Why You Should Skip Dead Man Down.
Too Many Plotholes...
While the tone and content of Dead Man Down are at least as dark as those of its international predecessor, the film is bogged down with too many openings. What was so bad about Victor's past that led to his leaving his home country and coming to America? Why did Beatrice wait until now to become so reckless and dangerous?
With so many questions, the audience immediately gets lost in the sauce, and is left awkwardly and embarrassingly trying to put the pieces together.
Her Face Wasn't THAT Bad!
The commercials underscore the fact that Noomi Rapace's character, Beatrice, was in a horrible accident. This is one of the major plots in the film and isn't even given enough wings to soar. Her scars do not seem bad enough to make her want to enlist Victor's services. They don't even look bad enough for her to shun away from society (or her cool mom played by Isabelle Huppert).
Balanced against the good and bad decisions made throughout this film, cinephiles should note that Dead Man Down makes more bad ones than good.
Is This Supposed To Be Like Drive?
The opening scenes aren't meant to provide a connect-the-dots explanation of what's going on; we're meant to put the pieces together. After 20 minutes of silence from the movie's main character (Farrell), it's easy to lose patience and find fault in the work of the director. Neo-noir is a delicate skill that some have mastered and others have not.
It's not that the film is overly obscure; it's just that it tries to set a pace without establishing a drive.
Not A Great Cast Of Characters...
When Colin Farrell rides off to meet his team of crooks, you wonder aloud if he would be surrounded by the type of badass that many are accustomed to seeing around him. All of whom are in Dead Man Down who are not named Terrence Howard are as replaceable as light bulbs. With the main crux of the story being that the boss (Howard) is being stalked and harassed, Farrell's team does not provide the chops that would keep a pig happy.
Colin Farrell Can Actually DO Better...
He hasn't had the best of luck with his choice of film roles lately. Whether you thought he sucked in Fright Night, was maligned in Total Recall, or even outclassed in Seven Psychopaths, Farrell has proved to be a good actor in mediocre-to-bad movies.
That situation does not change for him with his latest Dead Man Down, and could be a waste of energy that you could save for his best work. Farrell is quite good alongside the efforts of Noomi Rapace and Terrence Howard, but the movie ends up being only slightly above average.
Kevin L. Clark heads Don't Lose Your Day Job, a website for video game enthusiasts. You can keep up-to-date with the latest gaming news on Twitter @DLYDJ.
