Code Ava

Ava is one of those films that is enjoyable, but will quickly be forgotten. It doesn't have any major or glaring flaws, but equally it doesn't have anything extra special that makes it stand out.

I absolutely love Jessica Chastain as an actress, and so she was the highlight for me. I thought she brought a good performance to a character who, despite not being too developed, had enough to maintain my interest.

The story felt very familiar. If you're into the action genre, you won't find anything ground breaking here. That's not to say it wasn't enjoyable. It was fun to watch, it just hasn't left a lasting impression on me.

In terms of the action, once again it was exciting, but it wasn't anything new. There were some pretty decent set pieces and some good fight choreography, and the action was well paced throughout.

Ultimately I'm happy I watched Ava. It kept me entertained for an hour and a half, and at the end of the day isn't that why we watch films?

How and why would you take a hit-man (hit-"person" to be politically correct) genre that's been done so many times before, screw it up, AND turn it into a soap opera?

I mean this whole Michael thing is straight out of "Days of Our Lives". Why not create a heartfelt conflict between the sisters and their mom, instead of just seemingly-random cast Common as Michael. Like my heading says, a 5th grader could've written (and directed) this better. I get that actor/trying-to-become-a-writer Matthew Newton is a newb, but to have such an all-star talent line-up, you'd think he would've at least had a seasoned writer proofread the script to avoid embarrassment. His screenplay was riddled with plot and technical issues, it was convoluted, and borderline laughable. Only in the last approx. 15 mins did it grab and hold my attention.

To make matters worse, actor/trying-to-become-a-director Tate Taylor failed miserably in directing his cast, and certain scenes were horribly directed. Don't get me started on the lame action scenes. Right from the start, Jessica Chastain was unconvincing as an assassin, and I know in front of a seasoned director, she would've nailed it. Even A-list actors need direction in scenes. With Taylor, her fight scenes were phony, as was her character.

I feel really bad for the A-listers having this mess on their resume. This type of filmmaking is more suited for the Steven Seagal and Bruce Willis has-been B-movie type actors. Now, watch seasoned filmmaker Luc Besson's "Anna", who cast (as a lead!) never-heard-of amateur actress (in her first-ever acting role) Sasha Luss, and his writing, directing and action scenes will blow your mind, especially compared to this mess! The moral of this story here is, don't blow your money on A-list actors in hopes they will make your film a success; instead, put that money towards film school, then cast a Sasha Luss type newb actor, and you'll have a better chance for a successful film. It's a very generous 6/10 from me - mostly out of pity for the A-listers.

Ava Starts AWESOME with great international spy assassin action, though it fast lost heat, getting to the level of a soap opera drama with unbelievable amount of tears that i could not like.

It should have stayed on track with action, but no.

Still, i can admire the effort and above all the all-star cast, that includes the always beautiful Joan Chen, as well as old time fave John Malkovich who fought pretty good when his time came.

Jessica Chastain in her main character role as well as her nemesis Colin Farrell also did a good work, as expected from them.

The cast even includes two Oscar winners: rapper Common and the forever gorgeous Geena Davis, who at 64 even looked more elegant and stylish than the much younger Chastain during the scene where the two women played cards.

So, as you can infer, cast is not a problem. Problem (in my eyes) was the plot that did make this flick and all action thriller. Because the tears and the telenovela subplot deflate the excitement, preventing the film to reach an awesome peak that would have made it truly memorable. That - sadly - did not happen.

Nevertheless, the Ava is acceptable, probably the best in offer in cinemas right now. I'd say it'd be worth of your bucks and time.

The first 30 minutes were really promising. Good action, suspenseful vibe, great acting... but as soon as one of the secondary character Michael appears, everything flops. Not only because of his insecure and awkwardly mediocre acting, which reminded me of some cheap drama or love story soap opera... but because he represents an entry point into Ava's past. A boring past which has nothing to add to the story or her character.

So if we crop off all the family stuff and stick to the action... then it could be a solid 7. In stead it is a poor 6.

Worth mentioning: Jessica Chastain and John Malkovich performances are great. Colin Farrell somehow sticks to his (good) average, but who really disappoints is Geena Davis. Her approach personally felt to me like "Let's make it clear - I'll say some words, get the money and leave."

This film is centred on Ava Faulkner, an assassin with addiction problems and a desire to know why her victims are being targeted. This latter quirk bothers her employers. Duke, her direct superior and father figure wants to protect her but others, higher up, believe she is a liability. After an operation goes wrong due to faulty intelligence she suspects that her employers want her dead. Duke tries to persuade her that she is just being paranoid. If that weren't enough there are problems with her family; her ex-boyfriend Michael, who is now her sister's fiancé, has gambling problems which have led to large debts.

I thought this started well and was intrigued by Ava's life as an assassin... I assumed that the plot would eventually lead to who her employers were and what their motives were. Instead it led to the unnecessary subplot involving Michael; this felt a distraction from the main story, as if the makers thought they had an hour's worth of material and needed to pad the film out to an hour and a half. It is a pity they didn't pad it with a bit more action connected to the main plot as what we got there was exciting and well-choreographed; the fights had an impressively physical feel to them. There are of course plenty of clichés but that goes with the genre. Jessica Chastain gives an impressive performance as Ava and John Malkovich and Colin Farrell are solid as Duke and antagonist Simon respectively. Geena Davis is fun as Ava's mother, although her presence made me think of her lead in 'The Long Kiss Goodnight'; a superior female lead action film. Overall it passes the time well enough if you are a fan of the genre but is hardly a must see.