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This came as a bit of a surprise to me as you almost never find a movie as good as this in January. I realize that critics clearly enjoyed this more then people which should say something. That this movie was marketed as something completely different then it truly was. I realize this is the case with all of the director's work. The same thing happened with Contagion and Magic Mike which I both liked very much. So if you ever plan on seeing this movie, don't believe what the trailer tells you.
This is a very odd film. Yes it's an action film but it's different than what you're use to, which is why so many people disliked it. I can't explain it but it's just different and I'll admit, it did bother me too. The music does not fit the movie at all. I'm not sure what the director was trying to do here but 90% of the music was this weird 70's jazz music that you would find in a spy movie from that period. Whatever the case, it was annoying and sometimes took me out of the movie. These were really the only things that bothered me. I mean the director choose to shoot the movie in a variety of ways, some shots work, others don't, but it didn't bother me much. It might be off-putting to some of you though and that's one example in which I said earlier that this movie is different. It's not shot in a way your typical action movie is. So despite those problems I enjoyed everything else.
The action is fantastic, it's very well choreographed. There's no music accompanying the action scenes which make them seem more realistic and thus, another example of how this is different from your typical action film. The story is nothing new, this is after all a revenge flick, but the director adds enough of his visual flair and fresh ideas to make this movie stand above your typical revenge flick.
The cast is solid and for a first time performance Gina Carano was not bad. Was it a terrific performance? No, but she has potential. She would make a good Wonder Woman but that's just me. I hope she gets more roles because watching her kick ass was definitely worth the price of admission. The other person worth noting is Channing Tatum. This has been a good year for him in both in terms of box office and career. Now, I haven't seen The Vow and I don't have any intentions of seeing it anytime soon, but he has definitely reversed my opinion of him. With this, 21 Jump Street, and Magic Mike, I can't believe I'm saying this but, he can act. I hope now he decides to pick smart scripts and make smart choices because he has finally proven(it's been like what 6 years?) that he's got the chops.
Overall, a nice surprise since normally January is considered a dumping ground as a majority of the films are Hollywood rejects. This is another great movie from a great director who has been having a good year himself with this, Magic Mike, and last year's Contagion, he's slowly becoming one of my favorite directors. Sure this movie is very different, the music doesn't fit it at all, there's no music during the fight scenes, and some of the shots work better than others. However, the action is nice choreographed a nice-shot, no shaky-cam, the cast gives solid performances and how could you not find Gina Carano kicking ass not exciting or hot?
