The “good deed” of the title refers, possibly, to the prison guard who gets close enough to a shackled prisoner, so that he can hand him a tissue. Big mistake. In theory, it should be interesting to see Idris Elba back to playing a meaty bad-guy role, but this dumb exploitation flick is wince-inducingly awful, topped off with a truly ridiculous twist. Elba plays Colin, who is doing time for manslaughter: a preposterous exposition scene has a radio newsreader helpfully explaining the backstory. He escapes from the prison van transporting him from where his parole hearing was held, and effectively resumes the psychopathic, misogynist campaign of violence that got him banged up in the first place. This clunkingly terrible film is a baffling career move for Elba, and a waste of co-star Taraji P Henson.
