Plot: An unstable escaped convict terrorizes a woman who is alone with her two children.
Review: There isn’t anything in particular that’s groundbreaking about the film. It was mostly predictable the whole way through. I think Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson brought the star power, but they provided little else. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have its creepy moments. The film is suspenseful and the audience seemed to be buying it, but overall it’s rather forgettable. I’m sure many were more interested in Elba taking his shirt off. It was certainly met with cheers, hoots, and hollers. I’d love to see how some of those women would act while seeing Magic Mike 2; he was rather tame in comparison to that.
I do enjoy both actors and I cringe that the movie poster tries to market this film with their academy award and golden globe achievements. Idris Elba is attached to some of my favorite films and TV shows (ie: The Wire, Thor), I was looking forward to it because he doesn’t really play villainous roles often anymore. I wanted to see if he could branch out and be more dynamic than his character on The Wire. He isn’t really the problem with the film; it’s the material he has to work with. I was hoping for a more layered character because they make the best bad guys and they always have.
Taraji Henson, well she’s actually a cousin of one of my cousins (though I’m not blood-related to her directly myself), so I always wish her well due to that family connection. She has been attached to some great projects too (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button comes to mind), so I just feel like both of these actors are better than this. Her character was a little too meek for my tastes. She’s a lawyer turned housewife, so I think she should have been more argumentative and assertive, especially when dealing with her husband.
The climax of the film provides most nail biting moments. We finally see Henson attempts at gaining the upper hand. As a lawyer, it’s established that she’s supposed to be a highly intelligent person so she is a little craftier than your average victim in these types of romps. The were still a few “Don’t go in there! Don’t’ do that!” moments that we in the reading world have coined “TSTL” (too stupid to live), but those were relegated to supporting characters more often, likely to maintain some character consistency.
Home invasion films in general are hit and miss. I feel like this genre has been done to death so it’s hard to come up with anything fresh these days. Who can match Robert DiNero’s performance in Cape Fear? I’ll give you a moment to think about it.
The film is entertaining, but definitely not worth a full price of admission. I would recommend renting it at best, but you really aren’t missing much…except a shirtless Idris Elba. But rest assured you can probably find that in several other places.