All ingredients here for a Bourne-level epic but it never, repeat, never, forms a cohesive whole.
You can almost hear the writers and directors talking among themselves.
"We can't do this straight-up," someone said, "because that's the way Van Damme and Seagal would do it. So we will slow it down, have long stretches where nothing happens, and really dopey music, the kind that almost puts you to sleep. We will call that character development. And don't forget to make the lighting dim, dim as possible. Can we have rain in every scene?" First mistake.
"We can't make this the equivalent of a martial arts film because we have Denzel. So we low-key the action until the end." Second mistake.
"Let's tease the audience with the backstory. That shows we are creative. Hold the 'reveal' until the halfway point." That's three strikes and you're out.
Oh by the way this COULD HAVE been done with class. The Koreans did it, same basic story, MAN FROM NOWHERE 2010. And they produced a much more enjoyable film.
You can almost hear the writers and directors talking among themselves.
"We can't do this straight-up," someone said, "because that's the way Van Damme and Seagal would do it. So we will slow it down, have long stretches where nothing happens, and really dopey music, the kind that almost puts you to sleep. We will call that character development. And don't forget to make the lighting dim, dim as possible. Can we have rain in every scene?" First mistake.
"We can't make this the equivalent of a martial arts film because we have Denzel. So we low-key the action until the end." Second mistake.
"Let's tease the audience with the backstory. That shows we are creative. Hold the 'reveal' until the halfway point." That's three strikes and you're out.
Oh by the way this COULD HAVE been done with class. The Koreans did it, same basic story, MAN FROM NOWHERE 2010. And they produced a much more enjoyable film.