Stuntman-turned-director Nash Edgerton takes the helm of this international crime caper, a film yearning and striving to be loved – there are some good lines and a couple of very impressive stunts.
The director’s brother Joel plays Richard Rusk, a crooked and obnoxious pharma exec running a secret Mexican cannabis-pill factory from his US base by arrangement with the terrifying local cartels. Charlize Theron produces the film and has a worryingly humourless role as Rusk’s super-sexy and ruthless lover Elaine, while David Oyelowo does his considerable best with the role of Harold, the likably innocent and trusting Nigerian guy in the office whom our dastardly duo intend to make the patsy for their illegalities. Thandie Newton is wasted in the uninterestingly and ungallantly written role of Bonnie, Harold’s wife. A couple of twentysomethings get mixed up in all this – played by Harry Treadaway and Amanda Seyfried – and their subplot goes pretty much nowhere in particular.
The film periodically livens up, and Oyelowo shows that he can play comedy, but his performance isn’t given much guidance or room to grow and the direction is very flat and uninspired. Theron has been ill-advised here – this project doesn’t give her anything like the wit and style of something like her film Young Adult.
I can imagine the Coen brothers or Tarantino making something of this, in their various distinctive ways, after reworking the script. Blink and you’ll probably miss it in cinemas: this is really straight-to-iTunes.
