I knew Brubaker from his Marvel comics tenure and from the "independent" work he's done with Sean Jenkins after that. Those later stories (aside from a tendency to write a little too much about writers and comic book creators as protagonists) are very good for what they are...especially the "Criminal" collections.
So I saw his name and Zoe Bell's attached to this, and I wanted to like it a lot more than I actually do. But I did like it.
Part of the problem is, of course, that Brubaker writes comics for a living. It's what he knows, and what he does. Any film project he is involved in is going to have some of that feel to it. Doing a comics influenced film requires a director with special talent to make that medium's approach work in a movie, even a heist/crime thriller. This director tries mightily to shoehorn the one into the other and he mostly makes it work where a lot of others might bobble the material. So, kudos to him.
The movie also has Zoe Bell to draw on, with the advantages and limitations that come along with it. She's handsome and photogenic and physical in a way very few female actors can match, and she can hold her own in front of a camera.
So there you have it. Some talented people put a lot of time and work into making a noir thriller with a ridiculous premise, visceral fight scenes, and a world weary cynicism that you've seen a thousand times before.
So will you like it? If you go into the movie determined to enjoy because of the names associated with it, you probably will. If you come across this cold, I really can't predict what your reaction will be. "Chinatown" or "The Big Sleep" it ain't.
So I saw his name and Zoe Bell's attached to this, and I wanted to like it a lot more than I actually do. But I did like it.
Part of the problem is, of course, that Brubaker writes comics for a living. It's what he knows, and what he does. Any film project he is involved in is going to have some of that feel to it. Doing a comics influenced film requires a director with special talent to make that medium's approach work in a movie, even a heist/crime thriller. This director tries mightily to shoehorn the one into the other and he mostly makes it work where a lot of others might bobble the material. So, kudos to him.
The movie also has Zoe Bell to draw on, with the advantages and limitations that come along with it. She's handsome and photogenic and physical in a way very few female actors can match, and she can hold her own in front of a camera.
So there you have it. Some talented people put a lot of time and work into making a noir thriller with a ridiculous premise, visceral fight scenes, and a world weary cynicism that you've seen a thousand times before.
So will you like it? If you go into the movie determined to enjoy because of the names associated with it, you probably will. If you come across this cold, I really can't predict what your reaction will be. "Chinatown" or "The Big Sleep" it ain't.