Split Lip

When I started watching this movie I was heavily engaged at first. Premise seemed very similiar to like a John Wick 3 and the visuals were absolutely stunning. The acting I thought was also good especially for a bunch of no name actors. Hence the reason for the four stars at least.

But the major issue with this movie comes down to bad/little dialogue, weird action scenes, and massive plot holes. It also was just extremely draggy in my opinion. I don't know if all this was due to lack of budget or poor direction by the director. But its shame because I really was rooting for this movie.

Lets start with the main character she's the next Angelina Jolie with her moves as she captures the audience with her rawness from scene one .The movie has shots of adrenaline and just a splash of comedy throughout making it gritty at moments however there are some scenes that are drawn out . Overall, this movie shows the strength, power and yet the humbleness of an assassin that's rarely portrayed in movies.

Mesmerizing lead actress and plot holes you can drive trucks through

Set is an assassin whose made a mistake and hence becomes hunted with an array of killers on her trail. For 98% of the film guns are replaced with hand to hand combat to the death, well choreographed and totally engrossing. She meets Samuel a totally clueless nerd whose dialogue hurt my ears. He is 'helpful' once but otherwise has no place in this film.

Plot holes galore and for no reason at all. Example: At the outset of the film her boss, as a favor, suggests her best flight destination and, as she leaves, reminds her we are coming after you. Really, after he's told where to go? Plot holes get larger and more irritating as the film plays out. The finale, with an excellent action scene, is otherwise a mess. Almost none of it makes sense. Many rave about the 'original' ending and they are right but that is still part of a mess including erroneous dialogue.

All in all Set was Mesmerizing with her bloody, scarred face, from various battles, that showed throughout the film. She was an assassin ever ready bunny self described 'monster.'

First of all, I really enjoyed this movie. I was engaged the whole time and it felt like the right length for the story it was trying to tell.

The strongest part about it was the excellent emotional core of the story as told by the interactions between Samuel and Set. Their relationship being a tenuous friendship that feels like it could crash down at any moment. The ending and it's surprises are really satisfying too. Set's character traverses her arc quietly, but she does it powerfully, silently sucking the audience in to her almost Stygian self destruction. Meanwhile, Samuel is funny on purpose, which is hard to do, he is easily likable and offers much needed levity and a very thick and heavy emotional atmosphere without jarring the scenes too much.

For a film that's billed as a brawler type film, there aren't actually very many fights, and the fights themselves are filmed in a very western style, which means there's cuts before hits actually connect (maybe a limitation with actor safety and not having access to professional stunt people) but it makes the fights both hard to follow and feel less impact. I'd say this film was more of a drama with fights in it rather than a film about fighting.

There are also some strange plot points regarding the boss and the main character that honestly don't make sense.

The sister character (while very well acted) felt like she was built as a plot device to cause/stir up conflict rather than to be a part of the world.

The acting was great and the shots out of the fight scenes were gorgeous. The film doesn't rush itself which is great, and there are some very Blade Runner-esque shots of just holding on a character as they feel an emotion, which is awesome.

Overall, fixing up the shots in the fight scenes, and handling some of the plot threads with the boss and the sister slightly differently would crank this up to an 8 for me.

I am really excited to see what this group of people does next, and I'm really glad I got a chance to see this awesome movie on the big screen!

Many times we think that a huge budget is required to make a worthy film, especially in the action genre. Split Lip proves this belief wrong. Lead Actress Doree gives a grounded, mysterious, intriguing performance. The action and plot is builds up so well right to the satisfying end, which I won't spoil ;)