Mini-Reviews: “The Call” & “Dead Man Down”
Greetings all,
Today, here are two quick mini-reviews for the day of Halle Berry’s The Call and Colin Farrell’s Dead Man Down.
Enjoy. (Trust me, reading the reviews are more fun than watching the movies themselves.)
The Call
Directed by: Brad Anderson (The Machinist)
Starring: Halle Berry (Gothika), Abigail Breslin (Zombieland), Morris Chestnut (Think Like a Man) and more.
Rating: R -for violence, language, frightening sequences.
Trailer:Click HERE
Synopsis: When veteran 911 operator, Jordan (Halle Berry), takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl’s life.
Review: First, I must get something off my chest. I had a phone call with Halle about The Call (and about her hideous hair in the movie). I wasn’t supposed to share it with you, but I am breaking the rules to share with you a snippet of what that call was like:
Someone had to say what we were all thinking! Okay, so, did you watch the trailer? If you did…then you saw the movie. Save yourself the $10 or so. Thrillers intend to be exactly that, although oftentimes they thrill at the expense of common sense and reason. Such is the case with The Call. Here is my mini-review of this film:
SCORE: (1/5 stars)
Dead Man Down
Directed by: Niels Arden Oplev (the original The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)
Starring: Noomi Rapace (the original The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), Colin Farrell (Total Recall), Terrence Howard (Crash), Dominic Cooper (The Devil’s Double) and more.
Rating: R -for language, nudity, violence…and “R”efund “R”equired!
Trailer:
Synopsis: Dead Man Down centers on a brave enforcer Victor, played by Farrell, right hand man to an underground crime lord in New York City. He seeks to avenge the death of his wife and daughter caused by his boss. When his employer is threatened by a mysterious killer, Victor also becomes detective. Victor is seduced and blackmailed by Beatrice, played by Rapace, a victim turned avenger whose intense chemistry leads them spiraling into payback delivered in violent catharsis….
Review: Attention-getting and exciting in both the beginning and the end…with nothing in the middle to hold it together. The film would’ve been greater had it skipped the middle 90 minutes where nothing of any consequence seemed to happen at all. The movie trodges along with the multiple angles and stories that serve little to no purpose.
Definitely interesting seeing Noomi Rapace in a victim type of role, weakened by her past, as opposed to the stronger female characters we are used to seeing her play (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Prometheus, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows). Terrence Howard’s acting ability is lost in this role that could just as easily have been played by someone like Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson…and don’t get me started on Colin Farrell.
Bad acting (yes, even with Terrence Howard), dreadful pacing, storytelling and mix of plots. If you like the original The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo then you will appreciate the same style of pacing here. I did not as it was diluted with meaningless events, people and cliche sub-plots. It would seem that the entire film’s budget rested in the explosion special effects as opposed to anything worthwhile in making the film any good.
Dead Man Down is as lively as the title sounds in all but the beginning and end of the film. The trailers, posters and featurettes were far more entertaining than the movie itself. 
Dead Man Down (Score: 1/5)
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Thanks for reading! Happy Watching!
-T, The Focused Filmographer
up next: Trailer Time Thursday!
I agree, the call was terrible. You make a good point in pointing the finger at the last act of the movie. It was terrible. Completely wrecked what ever little quality the rest of the movie had…
I didnt even go see Dead Man Down!
you can keep it that way!
ha
thanks, yeah, i can’t wait for the summer already
I still have yet to see The Call, but I have a feeling I’m going to agree with you (The Trailers for it are among the worst I’ve seen all year). I didn’t hate dead man down quite as much as you did but I definitely won’t defend it, it’s just an entirely mediocre experience that I have no wish to repeat
Thanks. yeah, I’d advise you against seeing The Call, but if you must, you must.
I really wanted Dead Man Down to be better. I really felt robbed of my time having watched it, unfortunately. Thanks for stopping in and commenting
*giggles* LOVE the review of The Call. The trailer looked atrocious so it wasn’t on my list, glad I made the right call…hehehe…
ha. you def did make the right call.
Thanks for reading. and for the comment
Called them both! Booyah! Ahahahahaha
hahaha. you are wise indeed!
Especially happy about calling the Dead Man Down film, so many people thought it would be good
yeahh…Dead Man Down let me down
Oy, two terrible movies, such a bummer T! I still might give Dead Man Down a chance though, I quite like Colin Farrell & Dominic Cooper, but maybe I’ll wait ’til it’s free on Netflix streaming, ahah.
yeah, they both were highly unsatisfactory, but I was more disappointed in Dead Man Down because I expected far more from the director and cast (sans Farrell). I’ll be curious as to your thoughts.
The Call looks horrible, though Abigal Breslin looks so pretty, she is so grown up! I’m probably going to check it on DVD for Noomi Rapace.
Abigail is pretty and has grown up well.
i think dvd is the right choice for Dead Man Down. I’m still going to try to get a copy of the poster, but I won’t be buying the dvd.