The first film from Niels Arden Oplev since the original The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo brought him to the notice of mainstream audiences in 2009, revenge thriller Dead Man Down marks his English language debut, as well a reunion with Noomi Rapace, the original Lisbeth Salander. The movie follows Victor (Colin Farrell), the right hand man to New York mobster Alphonse (Terrence Howard). While Alphonse deals with threat to him and his organisation, Victor has his own hands full with his neighbour, the disfigured Beatrice (Rapace), who has a video of him killing a man in his apartment. Beatrice threatens to give the video to the police unless Victor kills the man responsible for her scars.
Even with an impressive cast, which also includes Dominic Cooper, and a scene stealing cameo form Armand Assante, Dead Man Down is a bit of a mess. An enjoyable mess, but still a mess. Despite an impressive opening, it soon gets bogged down with multiple plot strands, and moves forward at a leaden pace. The main thread of how Victor's past impacts on his present is handled extremely well, delivering a very clever twist about an hour in that took me by surprise, but the rest of the time logic is put in the back seat. Overly elaborate revenge plans abound, and the story borders on the ludicrous at times, with characters acting against type for the sake of plot development. The movie sets itself up with a gritty, neo-noir tone, which it keeps up up for most of the film, but then delivers an action filled finale that, for me anyway, came out of nowhere. Don't get me wrong, it is an extremely enjoyable set piece, but it felt out of place, like if The Avengers, with all it's set up of an epic battle of good versus evil, instead ended with a tense dinner conversation between the team and Loki.
Predictably, the relationship between Beatrice and Victor evolves into something more than blackmailer and blackmailee, but there is enough chemistry between the pair for the audience to accept it. Victor is an unlikable character, but Farrell does a good job of making you care about him and his plight regardless. Beatrice suffers from some charactersation issues early on (is she a femme fatale or a damsel in distress?), but Rapace works very well in the role, especially against Isabelle Hubbert as Beatrice's mother. You really belive their relationship is real as potter about their home, talking away in French about Tupperware or if the oven is still on. Terrence Howard is suitably menacing, especially in a second act scene which will have guessing the outcome, but his character devolves into the generic, clueless bad guy as the story progresses, and his final scenes irritated me with how little sense they made.
This isn't the tightly plotted thriller Oplev is known for, but a great cast keeps this often absurd story watchable.
Even with an impressive cast, which also includes Dominic Cooper, and a scene stealing cameo form Armand Assante, Dead Man Down is a bit of a mess. An enjoyable mess, but still a mess. Despite an impressive opening, it soon gets bogged down with multiple plot strands, and moves forward at a leaden pace. The main thread of how Victor's past impacts on his present is handled extremely well, delivering a very clever twist about an hour in that took me by surprise, but the rest of the time logic is put in the back seat. Overly elaborate revenge plans abound, and the story borders on the ludicrous at times, with characters acting against type for the sake of plot development. The movie sets itself up with a gritty, neo-noir tone, which it keeps up up for most of the film, but then delivers an action filled finale that, for me anyway, came out of nowhere. Don't get me wrong, it is an extremely enjoyable set piece, but it felt out of place, like if The Avengers, with all it's set up of an epic battle of good versus evil, instead ended with a tense dinner conversation between the team and Loki.
Predictably, the relationship between Beatrice and Victor evolves into something more than blackmailer and blackmailee, but there is enough chemistry between the pair for the audience to accept it. Victor is an unlikable character, but Farrell does a good job of making you care about him and his plight regardless. Beatrice suffers from some charactersation issues early on (is she a femme fatale or a damsel in distress?), but Rapace works very well in the role, especially against Isabelle Hubbert as Beatrice's mother. You really belive their relationship is real as potter about their home, talking away in French about Tupperware or if the oven is still on. Terrence Howard is suitably menacing, especially in a second act scene which will have guessing the outcome, but his character devolves into the generic, clueless bad guy as the story progresses, and his final scenes irritated me with how little sense they made.
This isn't the tightly plotted thriller Oplev is known for, but a great cast keeps this often absurd story watchable.