Force Of Nature Serves As A Poorly Constructed And Extremely Badly Written Heist Thriller That Wastes Its Talented Cast

                                          

      When it comes to low budget action films, they're generally made or broken based on the strength of their main stars. In some cases, these main actors or actresses end up being the main saving graces of the film as they not only bring charisma to the scenario presented, but help elevate the film to being on the level of watchable depending on the strength of the script. In the case of Force Of Nature, the film relies on the talent of it's main star Mel Gibson in hopes of compensating for the films weaknesses regarding its script. As that film shows as well as other ones before it, some movies are just greenlighted and assembled with a genuine lack of enthusiasm and creativity behind their productions. Force Of Nature boasts an interesting concept but ultimately feels uninspired and poorly executed with Gibson's presence being wasted here. The end result ranks as being one of the worst films of 2020 thus far. 

                                     

      The plot for Force Of Nature centers around a gang of thieves plotting a heist during a hurricane and encountering trouble when a cop attempts to force everyone in the run down apartment building to evacuate. The film serves as being a classic case of its concept sounding better than the overall execution of the film despite the former being rather predictable at times. Force Of Nature could've been a solid heist thriller if it's filmmakers bothered to put in the effort to make it work instead of settling for a script, that feels extremely messy while relying on numerous tired old cliches lifted from other action flicks. The film lacks the energy, thrills, and excitement of other action films in the genre with it ultimately wasting its appealing and talented cast on cardboard characters, who come across as feeling both generic and stereotypical. It says a great deal about the effort put into the film by its filmmakers when both the crime itself, as well as the hurricane are not that compelling. That's a shame in itself as a story involving robbery, guns, a hurricane, and Mel Gibson as the films main star should be much more than just forgettable and messy entertainment. Force of Nature desires to be an action film in a vein similar to ones that were produced during the 1980's era, but lacks the gut-punch and enthusiasm behind its making to rank amongst those films. 

      As bad of an effort that Force of Nature turned out to be, the cast proves to be one of the very few, if not the only highlight of the film. Although given a weak script with poor character subplots, the main cast of talented actors and actresses do the best they can in making the most of their characters. The best performance comes from Mel Gibson in a scene-stealing performance as a retired officer named Ray Barrett, who refused to leave his apartment during a hurricane. Regardless of how one feels about Gibson as a person off-screen given his controversy over the years in terms of delivering both anti-Semitic and racist remarks, it can be agreed upon that he's the strongest element of the film despite his character having only roughly 15 to 20 minutes of screentime. Gibson excels at playing a foul-mouthed and bigoted retired police officer, who ends up helping protect the main characters from the films antagonists. Emile Hirsch does a decent job as Cardillo, a burnt out police officer who begrudgingly follows orders to help evacuate anyone refusing to leave their homes during the hurricane. Hirsch does a fairly decent job of playing a cynical officer, who doesn't care to help others but does so at the insistence of his new partner. Kate Bosworth adds appeal to the cast as Troy Barrett, a smart and strong-willed nurse and daughter of Gibson's character, who tries to convince her stubborn father to leave his apartment in order to seek shelter. Stephanie Cayo shines as officer Jess Pena, who pushes Cardillo into going out on the field and helping evacuate others. David Zayas proves effective as the films main antagonist John the Baptist, a brutal leader of a Puerto Rican crime syndicate who searches the apartment complex for a cache of artwork that's worth millions. Zayas gives audiences the menacing yet stereotypical villain, that the story requires despite his character coming across as being generic and cliched. The rest of the supporting cast gives notable performances with Jasper Polish as Cardillo's deceased girlfriend Jasmine, Will Catlett as Griffin, Swen Temmel as Hodges, Tyler Jon Olson as Dillon, and Jorge Luis Ramos as apartment resident Bergkamp. The cast of Force Of Nature does the best job they can in making something of the story with their performances standing out from the rest of the films quality. Although the cast as a whole succeed in delivering serviceable to solid performances, it's both Gibson and Zayas who deliver the strongest work in the film despite the former having a more minimal role than advertised.

      The films directing by Michael Polish is serviceable at best with Polish attempting to give it the shot of adrenaline needed in hopes of overcoming the lackluster script. Where he succeeds at is nailing the look of a hurricane ridden Puerto Rico with strong and effective cinematography. The films hideout locations within the apartment complex as well as its action sequences are both well-shot and reasonably well-staged, despite never living up to their full potential due to the poor character decisions that the script calls for. The action sequences largely consist of rain filling the frame with the camera work being aggressively shaky in style. The editing keeps the film moving at a tight pace while attempting to add suspense to the story when things begin to slow down and become boring. The score by Kubilay Uner though effective, isn't anything particularly memorable nor commanding during the films intense action sequences or dramatic moments. With Force Of Nature, Polish attempts to create his own low budget Die Hard style action movie set in a rainy apartment building during a Category 5 hurricane. While it's debatable to audiences on whether the addition of a hurricane to the films script is handled in poor taste given that the story takes place in Puerto Rico given that it experienced an actual Category 5 storm in 2017, the director does his best to take what's essentially a scattered screenplay and make it engaging despite his efforts ultimately falling short. In balancing out the multiple subplots involving the main characters trapped in the apartments during the heist, Michael Polish does a fairly decent job of going back and forth in terms of showing what's happening with all the different faces and scenarios without making it too confusing for the audience to follow. Putting all issues aside regarding the films story, he does the best job he can in making up for the films shortcomings regarding it's script.

      The writing department is the main source of the films key issues and ultimately is where it falls apart as a whole. The script written by Cory Miller, attempts to establish several key subplots involving the main characters with nearly all of them coming across as being uninteresting and poorly handled. The audience doesn't care much about the father and daughter subplot involving Gibson's character and Bosworth because it isn't developed well enough for them to become invested. The audience also doesn't care much about the side characters, particularly William Catlett's character Griffin and Bergkamp with their back and forth subplot on whether Bergkamp's character is a Nazi or not feeling both out of place and awkward. The introduction of Griffin's character comes out of left field with him being arrested by Police after getting into a fight with another person over the purchasing of a large portion of meat in an effort to feed his bizarre pet (The latter the audience never gets the opportunity to see but is presented as being an aggressive beast that can hurt or harm others if left unchecked outside of his closet) in his apartment. Such a sequence has little to no influence over the story other than it leading all of the main characters back to the apartment complex so the heist can initiate. The romance between Cardillo's character and Bosworth's Troy, feels both tacked on and cliched like the film wouldn't be complete as both an action and heist film without some form of a conveniently cliched romance thrown in. Their relationship consists of dialogue that's mostly side talk with no genuine spark between them. As controversial of a subplot as the films use of a hurricane has become with audiences, it actually manages to work with the story as being both a creative and realistic reasoning for keeping the main characters trapped in the apartment complex while hiding from the films main antagonist during the search for the paintings. What could've been a slick and clever heist thriller is ultimately undone by the films incoherent and messy script, which lacks the effort required to make it effective or having the audience connect with any of the characters as they all feel bland as well as manifestations of racial stereotypes with examples being the main characters (Both young and old active duty and retired cops who happen to be Caucasian) battling Puerto Rican villains with Mel Gibson's character spewing out vulgar and offensive dialogue on top of refusing to respond to female authority with the audience being encouraged to chalk it up as a flawed character trait when he begins protecting the main characters against John's gang. The former is also portrayed as being a trigger happy retired cop, who appears angry and bitter with him not wanting to follow basic instructions given. The character of Cardillo is also showed as having a questionable past with his character bragging about breaking people's fingers with no signs of remorse. The script also contains dialogue that's full of jokes that misfire such as the main villain instructing Cardillo's character to remove his uniform with the latter responding by questioning why stating that they just met. The biggest problem with the script is the lack of thoughtfulness that went into it with the story lacking suspense and relying on recycled formulas and questionable character motives to make it work. The end result is an extremely messy and boring script, that should've experienced numerous rewrites before inevitably being greenlit.

      The biggest disappointment with Force Of Nature is not that it turns out to be such a poorly written and executed action thriller, it's the apparent carelessness and lack of a creative drive that went into its making. The film at times feels as if it intends to deliver the middle finger at left-wing politics with its displaying of both racist and misogynistic elements rather than telling a compelling heist story with strong characters. If the film didn't come across so much as feeling tone deaf in regards to it's implicit stereotypical elements and instead managed to make its characters more interesting and distinct, the overall experience would've ended up being a more enjoyable and worthwhile one. Outside of the noteworthy attempts of the cast to add some flare to the blandness of the writing, there's almost nothing else about the film that's worth mentioning in a positive light. For a story that aims to take a Die Hard style action approach to it along with being a heist flick, the film ranks as being one of the latter's worst imitators as there's barely any life present to keep it from being completely unrecommendable. The cast stands as being the only interesting element of the film with their talents ultimately being wasted on material, that often feels beneath them. Gibson is easily the films strongest asset with his character often being sidelined in exchange for alternate character arcs that aren't that interesting nor engaging to begin with. Despite some reasonable production qualities and the casts effort to lessen the blow that audiences ultimately experience from watching it, Force Of Nature stands as being a grossly incompetent and forgettable action thriller that utilizes and wastes both its resources and talent on a plot that should've has more effort thrown into it, especially when mirroring real-life events with it's subplot involving the Category 5 hurricane inspired by 2017's Hurricane Maria. Given that the film dares to ground its story around reality, greater care and appreciation should've been spent on making it work rather than be an inadequate form of throwaway entertainment. For the talent that the film boasts in front as well as behind the camera, both parties deserve much better material to work with as well as a more rewarding popcorn experience for audiences. As an attempt to being Gibson's career back to prime status given his decades long blacklisting from Hollywood, the film fails miserably at doing so with fans of the disgraced star finding themselves having to wait once again for the role that'll give his stalled career a much needed revival as this doesn't help his case. Force Of Nature stands as being one of the worst films of 2020 released thus far with it being no surprise to those watching it on why it landed on straight to video with its overall quality being too poor for a standard theatrical release.

Final Verdict: For fans of both action and heist thrillers along with Mel Gibson, Force Of Nature serves as being uninspired and should be properly avoided and switched out with much stronger and more effective action heist thrillers.

Christopher Nolan's Tenet Delivers As Both A Visually Stunning And Complexed Action Puzzle

                 

      When looking at today's generation of Hollywood filmmakers, few are as celebrated and looked upon with both excitement and anticipation as director Christopher Nolan. The acclaimed filmmaker has seen his resume continue to expand over the course of the last decade with a wide variety of films ranging from 2000's cult classic Memento followed by Insomnia, The Prestige, The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception,

Interstellar, Dunkirk, and now this year's Tenet. Designed as being an action-thriller mixed with elements of science fiction, the film has seen its released date pushed back twice before finally landing in theaters as the first major blockbuster released during the Covid-19 pandemic. One of Nolan's signature trademarks as a filmmaker, is his ability to craft unique storylines that revolve around the concept of time with events in the story jumping back and forth in the form of a puzzle with the audience being left to put all the pieces together. While Tenet isn't as groundbreaking as Inception nor as well-told of a story as Memento, the film​ still stands as being a visually stunning and well-executed heist thriller, that acquires all the classic trademark elements which audiences have come to know and love about Nolan as both a writer and director along with the film currently standing as being one of the best films of 2020 thus far. Given that the film is being positioned as one of the first big event films released in hopes of slowly bringing audiences back to theaters as the cases of Covid-19 continue to prove, its strong quality helps in reassuring audiences a promising and hopeful future for Cinema with a film like this being made specifically for the theater experience.

      The plot for Tenet centers around a clandestine CIA agent (Played by John David Washington), who teams up with another operative (Played by Robert Pattinson) in trying to save humanity from complete and total annihilation. In addition to saving the world, they attempt to rescue a young beautiful woman (Played by Elizabeth Debicki) from her murdering Russian oligarch husband (Played by Kenneth Branagh). In order to achieve both parts of their mission, they must move forwards and backwards​ within time, using technology from the future that's been left in the past. For Christopher Nolan fans as well as audiences in general, Tenet serves up another explosive action spectacle and cleverly plotted story that audiences have become accustomed to with his style of filmmaking. The film boasts fantastic action set-pieces with strong performances from its main cast and direction, that's both steady-handed as well as being expertly well-crafted. As an action film, Tenet stands out as being more complexed in regards to story but thrives on the level of delivering terrific popcorn entertainment. Out of all the screenplays Nolan has written thus far, Tenet stands as being is his most ambitious and challenging concept with audiences being required to watch the film more than once to catch everything as they most likely won't be able to upon their first initial viewing. What this film does along with others that Nolan has directed, is not just show him as being an auteur type of filmmaker but also a magician type in the sense that he keeps his audience guessing on what's happening in the story with them becoming ultimately involved with the plot . Nolan once again abandons the conventional form of storytelling and dares to take his audience on a rollercoaster ride, that dazzles and makes them unlock the mysteries regarding the plot. The film has everything that Nolan fans desire from enjoying his past films while presenting a unique type of action film, that revolves around the concept of time-bending mixed with a James Bond style plot combined with insane action sequences​, including one involving a 747 Jet crashing into a hanger. Whereas audiences may not fully understand what's happening in Tenet, they'll be engaged in the action unfolding on the screen as well as impressed by Nolan's ambitious nature of storytelling that once again attempts to pull the rug from underneath its audience while reaching for the stars. Tenet is a pure example of top-notch filmmaking that dares to take its preferred genre in a unique direction with its filmmaker at the helm continuing to expand his craft while utilizing the most out of his hugely talented cast. Although Tenet doesn't rank among Nolan's finest work, it has enough elements drawn from those movies to blend together into another brilliantly written and masterfully directed action spectacle. 

      One of the key aspects of Nolan's films that helps make his stories so believable and convincing, are the different types of actors and actresses that he chooses for his roles. The cast for Tenet is extraordinarily talented with Nolan helping advance the careers of appealing young talents such as John David Washington and Robert Pattinson. One of the most interesting approaches that Nolan takes in regards to conducting the casting for his films, is his ability to take well-established actors and cast them in roles that generally go against the type of films or characters they've played before previously. With the lead role, John David Washington proves to be a bold and fantastic choice as the films main protagonist, a CIA agent who manipulates the flow of time in order to prevent World War lll. Washington is fantastic here along with showing charisma as the films leading man. He plays a James Bond style character with strong action and dramatic appeal, that manages to keep the audience engaged in the story. One looks forward to his steadily rising career with a great deal of interest. Robert Pattinson also manages to impress here with him playing Washington's characters handler Neil. Pattinson once again puts his charm on full display with him continuing to display his skills as a more serious actor outside of the Twilight universe (Which most audiences would prefer to forget when looking at Pattinson). Both Washington and Pattinson are engaging when placed together on screen along with them displaying strong chemistry. Elizabeth Debicki impresses as Katherine Barton, the estranged wife of the films antagonist Sator, whom both the protagonist and Neil work to save as well as the rest of the world. Debicki does well with her part and conveys the right levels of emotion that her role requires, along with working great off Washington. Kenneth Branagh continues to demonstrate that he's one of the most talented actors in Hollywood with him proving to be highly effective in the role of being the films main villain Andrei Sator, a Russian oligarch who communes with the future. Branagh is calm, calculated, and menacing in his role with him appearing to play what could easily be a fantastic bad guy in a classic 007 movie. His moments with Debicki's character are extremely memorable and effective with their characters being shown to bounce off each other with their estranged marriage. The rest of the supporting cast delivers notably effective performances with Dimple Kapadia as arms trafficker Priya, Martin Donovan as the protagonists CIA boss Fay, Fiona Dourif as leader of Blue Team Wheeler, Yuro Kolokolnikov as Sator's bodyguard Volkov, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as military commander Ives, and Sir Michael Caine in a minimal yet charming role as British Intelligence Officer Sir Michael Crosby. As a whole, the cast for Tenet is well-assembled and plays a large part in the film being both exciting and thrilling to watch with everyone bringing their A game to the project. There isn't one performance in the film that feels lackluster nor disappointing with everyone appearing to be genuinely thrilled to be apart of it. The charismatic talents of both John David Washington and Robert Pattinson are put on full display here with both young actors clearly shown to have bright futures in store for them with Elizabeth Debicki delivering a strong female supporting role on the side. With Tenet, Nolan once again puts together a well-rounded and extremely talented cast that goes above and beyond in helping bring his unconventional story to the big screen in a larger-than-life fashion.

      The films directing by Nolan once again earns praise for his continued display of being a filmmaker in complete and total command of his masterful craftsmanship as a director. Nolan's style of directing is all about giving audiences the most cerebral and complexed moviegoing experience possible when telling his stories with Tenet proving to be no exception. Here he shoots the film in a fashion that gives the story an epic feel to it with Nolan once again utilizing an IMAX presentation. The films cinematography is breathtaking with the set locations being beautifully shot along with the action sequences being marvelously filmed, particularly when they're​ shown going backwards in time. The latter gives audiences instant flashbacks to Inception with the time-bending style of action being displayed on the screen . The films cinematography is portrayed as appearing frentic with the filming of action sequences carrying a blink and you'll miss it approach, along with Nolan conducting his traditional in-camera approach with key moments in the story. The most appealing aspect in regards to the films camera work are the forward and backwards filming of the films action sequences, which are not only visually dazzling as well as incredible to watch on the big screen, but will leave audiences questioning how Nolan and his team were able to pull it off. One sequence in particular that's both visually striking and incredible to watch is a scene in which Washington's character goes backwards in time with his character being shown to move forward while everything else in the scene either reverses or repeats. His character also wears a mask to conserve the air he brought with him in an approach similar to James Cameron's Avatar with the humans wearing Oxygen masks on Pandora due to the lack of air. Such a sequence is mesmerizing because of all the different cuts and editing techniques, that went into pulling off such a stunning moment. The films score by Ludwig Goransso is well-handled and effective in regards to enhancing both the tension and drama unfolding throughout the story. Goransso's work not only feels inspired but serves as being a worthy fill-in for Hans Zimmer's absence as the longtime music collaborator of Nolan's work is busy scoring the much anticipated remake of Dune. The films editing keeps the story moving at a rapid pace while doing a solid job of portraying time running both backwards and forward with the audience getting moments to exhale during the quieter character moments shown. Much has been said about the films technical elements, particularly its sound effects which often becomes so overpowering in terms of volume that audiences have noted having trouble hearing the actors dialogue during the films intense action sequences. While it can be said that the sound mixing is more enhanced in comparison to Nolan's other films, the strong criticisms regarding the difficulty hearing the characters dialogue appears to be a bit exaggerated as the noise never​ becomes louder than the actors voices. The impact of the films action scenes however, are further emphasized and driven home by the power of its top-notch sound mixing. In terms of the films visual effects, Nolan once again opts for less CGI and more practical effects to enhance the realism of the action. Some of the films fantastic set-pieces include a car chase on the freeway that includes vehicles driving backwards and flipping over along with an actual 747 Jet crashing into a hanger. What's​ most impressive about Nolan's directing is his determination to outdo his previous efforts, as well as providing another visually captivating puzzle for audiences. With Tenet, he manages to push the boundaries of technology again in regards to what's​ possible to show without overdoing it in terms of CGI. In terms of storytelling, Nolan feels like a modern version of Stanley Kubrick in taking his audience on a bizarre and wild experience which makes little to no sense at first, but ends up being both a stimulating and rewarding experience that draws audiences back to it with repeat viewings.

      The films screenplay by Nolan is written in a form that isn't designed to spoonfeed the plot to audiences, but allows them to become immersed in the main characters experience along with them trying to put together the pieces regarding what's happened in the past, what's happening in the present, and what's going to happen in the future with the main characters. John David Washington's character is given minimal background information with the audience never being given his name other than him addressing himself as "the protagonist" in the story. The same also appears to be the case with Robert Pattinson's character Neil. Whereas the audience never truly get to know the lead characters on a more personal level, they find themselves being engaged with them anyway with the scenarios they're​ shown being thrown into regarding the saving of mankind while time-bending. The concept of Kenneth Branagh's character mastering his plot to take out the world through his dealings in the future is a compelling one, along with the subplot involving his wife trying to free both herself as well as her son from being forcibly bound to him, which gives his character more of a complex. The storyline for Tenet feels like the greatest imitation of a James Bond film that Nolan has made thus far, with it probably being the closest hell ever get to making one. The plot for Tenet plays out more than being just a mindless popcorn blockbuster, it blends shades of other genres into its plot structure such as science fiction with the whole time-travel and bending concept as well​ as boasting a complicated heist plot in the mix. The audience is given just enough information about the characters to become connected with them with the plot having numerous twists and turns to keep the audience on their feet in regards to figuring out what's happening within the story. The plot for Tenet is one that requires a great deal of patience and thought from its audience in regards to putting all the pieces together. While its almost certainly not possible to fully grasp the films main concepts and themes upon first viewing, it carries enough intrigue with its plot and entertainment value to make audiences revisit it in the same style as Inception and Memento. As a screenplay, Tenet is brilliantly written with dialogue that's​ sharp and a plot that holds the audiences interest with the writing meshing together numerous plot elements such as time travel, World War lll, fulfilling one's duty, estranged marriages, terrorism, and the concept of free will with an end message that effectively says that what has happened, happened. Or has it.

      As Hollywood becomes more and more reliant on franchise-driven stories, Disney remakes or comic book films, the presence of Tenet feels like an occasion that feels more rare in today's mainstream Hollywood. The film is not for everyone and will generate a divisive response like some of Nolan's previous work such as The Prestige and Interstellar, largely due to the fact that the plot is too confusing to follow with the whole time jumping concept. It doesn't rank among Nolan's best as the script needed more elaboration on the characters, but it's also not one of his worst. The film falls somewhere in the middle of an unusual yet remarkable resume of a director who continues to demonstrate his impeccable talents as a filmmaker. Regardless of how one feels about the film, they cannot deny that Tenet excels in delivering an experience that's not only exhilarating but combines all the strongest traits of Nolan as a filmmaker. While Tenet may not be the film to save Hollywood during the Covid-19 pandemic, it shows that there's still value with the theater experience along reassuring that boldness and originality in regards to storytelling isn't completely extinct. Tenet serves as a perfect representation of top-notch filmmaking with the audience being blown away by the sheer spectacle placed on the screen. Even though the story may be too difficult to understand with audiences being left scratching their heads, it's an highly enjoyable piece of Cinema that stands as being a striking action-thriller with a heavy dose of brain and intelligence incorporated. On a visual note, the film is a stunning masterpiece with Nolan crafting another unique experience that demands to be seen on the big screen (Appropriately when it's safe). Although the film may leave a bit to be desired with audiences in regards to more character exploration and a straight-forward narrative, others will be blown away and puzzled by Tenet's desire to make the audience figure out the clues regarding the films storyline. It's a film that absolutely lives up to its promise of both entertaining and dazzling its target audience, but will require them to figure out the mysteries regarding the plot themselves with stellar performances and solid action to make the experience more enjoyable. As far as action and heist films go, Tenet proudly stands above the others and further challenges the conventional way of thinking in regards to what's expected from those respective genres. For those who are able to see the film in a nearby theater that's reopened or a drive-in, they are encouraged to do so as the film will ultimately prove to be a hugely rewarding experience on the big screen.

Final Verdict: For both movie lovers and Christopher Nolan fans, Tenet is a richly thrilling experience that serves as a must see (Under the right safety conditions).