MUTINY – Review
Yes, it’s the last gasp of the Summer movie season, so let’s end it with a bang. And a boom. And a stab. And a roundhouse kick to the head. As you may have guessed, here’s one last action thriller before those cold-weather awards contenders begin to arrive at the multiplex. The star of this new movie is carrying on the action superstar era probably begun in the 1980s by Stallone and Schwarzenegger. They spawned a “cottage industry” of the genre, taken over by Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal, and Jean-Claude Van Damme, along with the Asian imports, Jackie Chan and Jet Li. So who’s been toiling away with modest-budgeted “flyin’ fists” flicks? Why, it’s that Brit-born Jason Statham, who is indeed “back in action”, this time on the high seas (minus MEG) in MUTINY.
The story begins with a brief “fast forward”, then backtracks to introduce Cole Reed (Statham), a former London “bobby” who is now the head of security for a billionaire shipping magnate, Mr, Campallo (Ramon Tikaram). On this night, he’s off to celebrate the sale of his shipping company, BK, at a party for his retirement in Bangkok. The champagne is flowing at the swanky ballroom, but Cole’s “radar” is “up” after spotting some shady guests. Before the party ends, he drives his boss home. But they never make their destination. Near the docks, they’re ambushed. Cole does his best, but the army of killers takes out his boss and old friend. Reed recognizes several policemen mixed with the assassins. Naturally, the news reports that he’s the prime suspect in the murder. But Cole lifts the ID of one of the fallen bad guys and discovers that he’s a BK ship worker. Meanwhile, a former sailor named Angie (Annabelle Wallis) is called in to work as security on the BK cargo ship, the Artemis. As she prepares to cut short her shore leave (and reunion with her daughter), Reed hatches a plan to find out who is behind the fatal attack. Using the dead man’s ID, he boards the Artemis, captained by the imposing Madsen (Roland Moller). As Cole sneaks around the shipping containers, he discovers some startling “contraband”: sick, scared stowaways. Can he thwart these human traffickers while unlocking the conspiracy behind his pal’s murder, and eventually clear his name? Despite an unexpected ally, this is no “pleasure cruise”.
Much like his stoic fighting machine men of so many previous films, Statham isn’t flexing his dramatic “chops” on this one. Cole could easily be THE BEEKEEPER (sequel’s on its way) or A WORKING MAN seeking SHELTER. We get a sense of his grief over a past family tragedy before he gets down to “business”. That stoic stare is still fearsome, even as he tries to quickly make a plan to merely survive the night. He’s still a compelling screen presence, though I’d love to see him skewer this role as he did deftly in SPY. He’s got a great rapport with his co-star, Ms. Wallis, who has her own complicated backstory (single mother challenges), while she conveys a similar strength in battle. Moller has his own scary stare as the surly ship’s captain who might be up to the challenge of going “mano y mano” with this skilled stowaway. Kudos also to Adrian Lester as the military man who may just be our heroes’ best hope and salvation.
The masterminds behind the nautical mayhem are director Jean-Francois Richet and screenwriters J.P. Davis and Lindsey Michel. That last duo provides the barest of backstory before giving action fans just what they want. Ditto for Richet, who helms several great encounters on deck with the vast ocean as a backdrop, while all navigating the tight space below deck. The Artemis is a labyrinth with maze-like hallways where the baddies must be taken down with little room for flailing limbs. But there are plenty of corners for the heroes and foes to use. Of course, Statham displays his fightin’ feet and fists, though he also uses any tools at hand for some especially gruesome maiming ( that R-rating is so earned). At a taut 95 minutes, the dramatic ‘fat’ is at a minimum, with the tension kicking in after Cole boards the ship (speaking of 80s and 90s thrillers, I was getting lots of UNDER SIEGE vibes), Aside from the ocean setting, there’s not much variation on the Statham formula, but his many fans will certainly be enthralled and entertained during this MUTINY.
2.5 Out of 4
MUTINY is now playing in theatres everywhere
