Dir. by Michael Bay
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen, Eliza González, Garret Dillahunt, Keir O’Donnell
I have seen very few Michael Bay films, mostly because I was pretty sure that his style and nonstop blockbuster action was not for me. But this movie really won me over. Let me get the bad things out of the way to start off. The ending is so so so cheesy and Hollywood cliché with everything working out fine. Like I get people saying to give action films a break and let them be dumb fun, but it can be dumb fun without the silly happy ending. I also think it was too long for basically all taking place in one vehicle. It didn’t particularly bother me, but looking back, it definitely would have kept me more on the edge of my seat if it cut out some of the unnecessary filler plots. From a positive perspective, the two leads absolutely carry this entire film on their backs. Jake is an absolute manic beast in this and I am glad he is doing movies he enjoys, but still bringing a high-energy and thrilling character to the screen. Yahya is a great balance to him, bringing more of a sane perspective to the situation. This movie runs on adrenaline, and it is filmed like crazy. The camera is never on the ground, let alone in one place. It is flying all over the city doing wild movements and I respect the experimentation. Action films with long-takes are the best out there. A high octane thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, if you can suspend a little disbelief about medical procedures and car chases. The only other complaint I have is that I wish they gave more character depth to side characters, like Cam. She had potential to do a lot more than to be a pawn in the stupid brotherly quarrels. This may sound like a lot of complaints, but I had a blast with this movie. I might have to have a Bay Binge.
7/10
