For audiences, the action-thriller genre has proven to be both a hit-and-miss one nowadays with most action films typically end up following the same basic formula with only a handful attempting to reinvent the wheel. The two greatest strengths when looking at an action film lie within the strength of its story, as well as the presence of its main lead. Both of those elements are essential for any type of action flick to succeed with the well-choreographed and kinetic action scenes being an added plus to the experience. In the case of Tom Clancy's Without Remorse, audiences get an old-fashioned revenge and conspiracy style thriller with acclaimed actor Michael B. Jordan giving a commanding performance in the lead role while proving to be an effective action star. Although the rights were originally purchased in 1993, the film lingered in development hell for over twenty years with big names attached to the main role such as Keanu Reeves until it was picked up by Amazon Studios and presented on prime as an original feature. Currently streaming as the number one film on the platform, the newest film adaptation of the bestselling Tom Clancy novel gives audiences an extremely generic yet passable action experience with much of the film working as well as it does largely thanks to the strong performance of Michael B. Jordan.
Based on Tom Clancy's 1993 novel of the same name, the plot for Without Remorse revolves around a recently discharged Navy SEAL (Michael B. Jordan) searching for those responsible for the murder of both his wife and unborn child, finds himself uncovering a major conspiracy involving a web of lies and deceit. To those familiar with Tom Clancy's previous works in both book and film form with the Jack Ryan series, Without Remorse continues the traditional trend of themes that dominate Clancy's stories such as War, national security, tyranny, and US/Russia relations. However, it does so without bringing anything new to the table in regards to storytelling or taking the genre in a direction that feels fresh and creative. Out of all the Clancy novels brought to the screen, Without Remorse ranks as being one of the weaker efforts due to a legitimate lack of enthusiasm behind its storytelling despite the films impressive action sequences. The film feels far too formulaic and plain in its overall plot for audiences to be genuinely impressed by it with its story ultimately being a serviceable one at best. What saves the film from being a complete letdown is the strength of its main lead, along with his ability to take the films main character and make the audience sympathize with him. Without Remorse relies heavily on Michael B. Jordan's presence to make up for its weaknesses regarding the lack of originality within its script. Its action scenes along with Jordan's acting help in making the experience one that's entertaining for audiences despite its main plot carrying a political landscape that feels a bit outdated with today's climate. The film serves as being a prime example of one in which it carries a scenario that feels all too familiar with forced franchise elements incorporated, but is made into a watchable effort due to the power of its main lead. Without Remorse offers action fans nothing new and settles for old twists and formulas conducted by previous action-thrillers before it without taking any risks, but it still manages to make for a fairly entertaining experience that relies on the charisma of its main lead to elevate it to the level of being a mildly entertaining though forgettable effort.
When it comes to Tom Clancy novels turned films, the filmmakers behind each story place the believability and realism of the story on the main cast. Clancy novels turned films typically boast a reliable group of actors/actresses, who give compelling performances that add to the intensity of the story. For the main roles, Clancy films often have strong leading men powering the stories ranging from Alec Baldwin to Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine with Michael B. Jordan establishing himself as being a worthy addition to the group of action stars that helped bring Clancy's work to the big screen in a thrilling fashion. Jordan is well-casted in the main role and balances both toughness and drama very well with him playing a character whom the audience can get behind with them wanting him to find those who killed his wife and unborn child. Jordan excels as Senior Chief John Kelly, whose first introduced with going on a mission to rescue a CIA operative taken hostage by a suspected pro-Assad paramilitary group. Jordan plays his character well with him quickly figuring out during his mission that his team isn't being told the complete truth regarding whose behind the kidnapping plot with him also uncovering a wide conspiracy regarding the murder of his wife and unborn child along with fellow members of his team. Jordan's performance here is terrific with him being engaging to watch, along with conveying the appropriate amounts of emotion and anger regarding his families murder in his search for the truth. The film works as being a watchable action movie largely thanks to his performance in the film. Jamie Bell manages to do well with what he's given as CIA operative Robert Ritter. Bell's character is treated as being a red-herring with him shown to be holding secrets from the team, prompting both Kelly as well as the audience to question his characters motives. Jodie Turner-Smith shines as Lieutenant Commander Karen Greer, whose shown to be a loyal friend and ally to Kelly. Guy Pearce continues to demonstrate himself as being a dependable actor with him turning in a solid performance regardless of the type of script he's handed with his appearance here proving to be no exception with him playing the films main antagonist, CIA Secretary of Defense Thomas Clay. Although he doesn't receive as much screentime as Jordan, Pearce makes the most of his role and creates a character whom the audience deems to be a slimy and untrustworthy authoritative individual. The rest of the cast give noteworthy performances from Lauren London in a brief yet effective performance as Pam Kelly, Like Mitchell as Rowdy King, Jack Kesy as Thunder, Brett Gelman as antagonist Victor Rykov, and Colman Domingo as Pastor West. The one thing that could be said about films based on Tom Clancy novels is regardless of whether audiences liked or disliked the films, it can always be agreed upon that each films respective casts delivered in giving strong and noteworthy performances overall. The cast for Without Remorse does the absolute best job they can with the material they have to work with. Although the supporting actors occasionally shine in this film, it's the performance of Michael B. Jordan that adds something fresh to the films plot that's far too generic for today's audiences. His performance is the glue that holds the film together and is what keeps it from being a tad above being completely forgettable.
The directing put forth by Stefano Sollima is reasonably decent though comes across as being standard work for the genre despite some intense action sequences, such as the films thrilling opening which instantly draws audiences into the story. Sollima gives the film a look and feel that's common with today's action thrillers with the tone being dark and gritty with brisk pacing, that keeps the story constantly moving without it ever feeling slow. The films fight scenes are well-choreographed with the action blending a combination of explosive weapons usage, as well as a vigorous style of action that mirrors that of films such as John Wick and Netflix's Extraction. The music by Sigur Ros Jonsi serves as being both anxious and energetic in adding suspense to the story, along with carrying a futuristic sound to it. Jonsi's score along with the films quick pace prove to be most effective in adding necessary tension to the story as the plot unfolds. Sollima does a fairly solid job of crafting a military style thriller that literally screams Call Of Duty with the films effective opening scene involving Kelly's Navy SEAL team performing their rescue mission. Despite the story being so-so, Sollima brings the film alive through its impressively handled key set-pieces with the sequence involving the main characters on a plane being so brilliantly filmed, that audiences could easily choose it to be the signature moment of the film. Whereas the film stumbles in the writing department, Stefano Sollima tries his hardest to compensate for the scripts lack of innovativeness by crafting well-executed action sequences which often distract from the stories glaring issues ,as well as Jordan's performance. With how well Sollima handles the films action along with building up a dark and gritty atmosphere that fits the tone of the plot, it's a shame he didn't have a much stronger script to work with considering that he shows clear talent as a director of both action and building up strong main characters.
Written by Taylor Sheridan and William Stapes, the script for Without Remorse attempts to provide audiences with a plot that serves as being twisty with characters meant to be looked upon as being both suspectible and untrustworthy in regards to their true intentions. The character of John Kelly is fairly well-established with him shown as being a smart Navy SEAL, who immediately questions his team's mission when discovering that they've been mislead. The script does well with developing Jordan's character enough for the audience to empathize with rather than making him feel one-dimensional. The rest of the characters in the script however, feel as if they're only present to serve either the main character or to help move the plot along until the next big set-piece arrives. Despite his dependable performance, Guy Pearce's character comes across as being a typical corrupt politician with a hidden agenda that can be found in any action movie with a similar plot. The plot relies on many themes that have been utilized in previous Tom Clancy novel turned films such as the main characters uncovering a major conspiracy, that generally involves putting two countries against each other in hopes of initiating a war. The story is presented as being extremely violent with Kelly's character being shown to be vengeful of his wife's death while finding himself committing actions, that would be near impossible to survive in reality. One of the scripts most interesting creative decisions is its desire to push representation with the character of John Kelly being presented as a strong African-American hero along with his commanding officer being a strong black woman, whose always shown to be professional with her interactions with other characters in the film being empowering due to the presence she brings. The changing of the stories setting from the 1970's to present day, is a wise move in adding to both the realism and believability of the plot. The films big reveal at the end would be much more shocking if it came out of the 1990's era given that the plot twist has been previously used an endless amount of times since then, ultimately lessening the impact of its reveal. With how much the filmmakers want to present a diverse action star with a largely appealing cast following their lead, it's profoundly disappointing that they choose to take that initiative with an average script which ultimately does its talented main star along with the stories legendary creator a significant amount of disservice. The script for Without Remorse feels like a slapped together effort that lacks passion behind its writing, but is made watchable due to the ability of both the director and its main star to make its generic plot a serviceable one.
Considering the foundation which the film draws its themes from, there really isn't much of an excuse as to why it feels uninspired in regards to the story it aims to tell. The biggest problem with the script for Without Remorse is the films desire to be two different stories simultaneously. The first is that it wants to be a Cold War type thriller with the villains main intention of starting a war between the U.S and Russia, with the second being a Taken and John Wick style revenge flick that involves the main character avenging both his wife and unborn child. The political elements which the story draws from are those that already have been done before far more effectively in previous films, with most cases having them being far better executed with their inclusion here feeling outdated. What saves the film from going completely underwater is the charismatic appeal of Michael B. Jordan as the main hero of the story, along with the films well-directed action sequences. Given the strength of the source material that the story draws from, the film should be so much more than just being a standard action-thriller. The greatest disappointment that one will have with watching the film is not how familiar its plot feels, but the lack of desire it carries in attempting to try something new. Without Remorse will satisfy the urges of action fans in the moment, but will not amount to much more beyond that. Considering the talent that's behind it, that's a shame as Tom Clancy, Michael B. Jordan, and Guy Pearce all deserve better.
Final Verdict: Fans of Tom Clancy's work as well as Michael B. Jordan will find Amazon Prime's Without Remorse to be a marginally entertaining though forgettable action affair with the cinematic universe of Tom Clancy works seeing better days.
No comments:
Post a Comment