Metacritic-Rezensionen

Iliff’s script and Hughes’ direction might not provide anything we haven’t seen before, but both allow the actors the necessary room to give us what we need to stay invested.

Maybe Banderas wanted to capitalize on the popularity of the Taken or John Wick franchises, which is entirely understandable. For a man used to covering a wide range of genres, the role of the older action star is one with a certain degree of cultural cache. The Enforcer, though, just isn’t the right vehicle.

The Enforcer is filmed-proof that the difference between a C-movie and a straight-up, watchable B-picture is Antonio Banderas. Ask first-time director Richard Hughes. He’ll tell you.

Reaching for the grandiose, it never grasps anything beyond the generic.

The film is sometimes too sleazy, but it is, more often, not sleazy enough.

There’s just nothing quite like a good crime thriller. But, despite Banderas’ best efforts and some stylish camerawork, this is nothing like a good crime thriller.

Banderas is good value, playing the role a few shades more seriously than it deserves, while first-time director Richard Hughes deploys much fizzing neon and halogen to strike a convincingly sleazy tone. But even at 90 minutes the plot feels padded, and it’s all so preeningly sordid.

It’s thuddingly predictable stuff that limps through a plot involving nefarious sex traffickers, treachery and a liberal smearing of Miami sleaze.