DEAD MAN DOWN (2013)

Genre: Crime/Thriller
Director: Niels Arden Oplev
Cast: Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Dominic Cooper, Terrence Howard, Isabelle Huppert, Armand Assante, Franky G
RunTime: 1 hr 57 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Sexual Scene and Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: http://blooddemandsblood.com/

Opening Day: 30 May 2013

Synopsis: Following the cinematic phenomenon "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," acclaimed filmmaker Niels Arden Oplev and brooding beauty Noomi Rapace reunite for another thrilling tale of vengeance. Colin Farrell joins the prestigious team as brave enforcer Victor, 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 (Noomi Rapace), a victim turned avenger whose intense chemistry leads them spiraling into payback delivered in violent catharsis. From producer Neal Moritz ("The Fast and the Furious" franchise, "I Am Legend") and Joel Wyman ("Fringe", "Keen Eddie") comes a triumphant action thriller, a powerful portrait of the relationship between two people caught in the crosshairs of revenge.

Movie Review:

"Dead Man Down" has a rather cheesy trailer which does not do the film justice.

Niels Arden Oplev, director of the Swedish "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2009) has a keen sense of how to keep his audience at the edge of their seats. The screenplay has an intriguing development and the action is intense. The first half of the film is especially fast-paced, gripping and chock full of smart twists, inviting audiences to establish the relationships between Victor (Colin Farrell), Alphonse (Terrence Howard) and Ilir (James Biberi). As pieces of the puzzle start to come together, Oplev changes it up in the next half of the film and focuses on the love interest between Victor and Beatrice. 

Noomi Rapace is nicely cast as the tormented Beatrice, a young French woman who swears revenge on the man who scarred her in a traumatic car accident. While her scar makeup does not make her “tragedy” very believable—it’s far too light and discreet as a scar to earn her the kind of scorn and bullying that her character is subjected to in the film—there are things that Rapace does with her eyebrows that brings out every fine nuance in expression, down to the tiniest expression of annoyance, puzzlement and fragility that’s a real treat to watch.

She strikes an amazing chemistry with Isabelle Huppert who makes a surprising appearance in this film as Beatrice’s mother, Maman Louzon. It’s not often we see the great French actress on Hollywood outings. And I implore you to watch any film with Huppert in it—everything will make sense once you have experienced the effortlessly phenomenal five seconds of her very first entrance in "Dead Man Down".

"Dead Man Down" is a compelling film; its charm attributed in no small part to how it shares abit of that alluring mix of cool yet tender romance in the cult favourite, "Drive" (2011) that many have been scrambling to re-present on the big screen. You know, the formulaic story in which monosyllabic, heart-of-stone, axe-to-grind, one-man-against-all-the-baddies type hunk meets new-age damsel in distress, or a strong-headed female character with a feisty exterior that belies a vulnerable heroine self? The costume choice for Beatrice in one scene cannot make this point any less obvious. When Beatrice enters Victor’s house for the first time, the grown woman is seen wearing pig tails and is dressed in a child-like frock.

In fact, the whole girl-next-door meets boy-next-door set-up in "Drive" seems to play out in an uncanny fashion in "Dead Man Down". While Victor and Beatrice are not exactly next-door neighbours in the way The Driver and Irene are, their hallway meetings and quasi-romantic, modern day Romeo & Juliet balcony rendezvous as tenants of opposite blocks attest to the fact that well-loved Hollywood formulae often require just a simple twist here and a little tweak there to perpetuate. 

The film also intelligently yet simply explores the ethics and morality of revenge which adds to its depth. It boasts some cool set locations, unexpected twists and is one of the more refreshing action films of late.

Movie Rating:

(Excellent casting makes for some startlingly impressive performances that are hardly packed into forgettable action flicks)

Review by Tay Huizhen