Zero

Saw this at the Imagine 2024 film festival in Amsterdam. Apart from good casting/acting and an implicit tour through many areas in Dakar, this appears to be a standard action movie, of which we have seen more than enough. However, if we had known from the start of the devious scheme behind it all, we might have valued the proceedings more ("enjoy" would be a misnomer, given the background story and the violence overload).

More background would have allowed us to live along with the two main protagonists. But we know nothing, neither about the underlying setup nor the purpose of their so-called missions. Nor do we know who the two bomb-chained men are. The bombs had a 10-hour times display perfectly in view, visibly counting. That was the only thing obviously clear throughout. And there was a voice in their earpieces telling them what to do (and what to do not).

Before knowing the purpose of it all, it is merely a series of useless violence and car/scooter chases while traversing Dakar, just like a standard action movie. If you're a fan of that, be my guest, but it does not work for me. There is no clear goal that must be reached within 10 hours, and the intermediate assignments they received did not help us getting in the proper mood. There was nothing that did help us outguess what was going on. In the process, we met a series of side characters, but nothing was told how they fit in the grand scheme. For a movie marked (among others) as Thriller, such ingredients are dearly missed.

Worse, we had a confusing, relatively short intermezzo, marked "Los Angeles 2 weeks ago" in yellow letters before that scene started, where we saw the two same men with the same ticking bombs. It seemed like a break in the narrative and unconnected with the story, were it not that the strategy of cutting wires is discussed. I'm at a loss how this can fit in the story line, being far away from Senegal.

But there is a plan, alas not made known to us until the finale. Soon after that revelation, it is implicitly suggested that a similar setup will be executed in Paris soon after, all of that with the sole purpose of raising an upheaval with enormous political consequences. Not until that moment, it became clear why two American citizens, unmistakenly looking like Americans, were chosen for the "missions" they had to carry out. It is indeed a devious schema, causing lots of political turmoil. To conclude: an unforgivable narrative failure.

Highly recommended for anyone craving a high-octane popcorn thriller with a powerful message! I had an absolute blast watching this at the Glasgow Film Festival. The experience was elevated by a Q&A session with the passionate actors and director, whose love for filmmaking was truly inspiring. It reminded me of Crank and similar films, delivering high-octane thrills and great comedy, thanks to the fantastic editing.

While I have some minor complaints about certain effects and the slow start of the third act, I'm thrilled to see an indie film with such incredible pacing and style. This is definitely a movie I'll be rewatching with friends! It offers a refreshing perspective on African cinema, as our leading actors romp through the vibrant streets of Dakar.

No pun intended -the movie may not be clear from the start ... but it is intense and it is able to keep you on the edge of your seat. The reason you are not spoon fed everything from the start is clear: you are supposed to find out things that are happening the same way the main characters do. Also having Dafoe do the "voice over" (voice over the phone to be more precise) is quite the brilliant movie.

If you have seen the previous movie of the director (Saloum), you know that he is not someone who likes to be predictable. And while this may not reach the heights of that movie (the setting kind of encloses it and might not leave it too much room to breathe), it still is really well done.

The acting is great, the effects are good ... of course there is some "coincidence" happening ... but what are plans for? If not to work out perfectly? You can discuss morality and other things ... you can maybe also ease your mind by thinking that many millions had a vest on and were told to vote a certain way, because otherwise the world does not make any sense anymore ... but that personal note aside: the movie is well edited ... and the ending gives us another punch ... yes it went there (again no pun intended).

But depending on how you feel about the movie (and your level of suspension of disbelief, the changing tone of the movie, which is there to mess with the viewer as the director is open to "admit"), you will also feel about certain elements of it. Like a flashback which may seem out of place - but plays a role in the end apart from giving us another character beat ... not for everyone ... but well done. And if like me you had a callback on Die Hard 3 (with the sign(s)) ... it was not intended to be that (I asked the director at a zoom Q&A)