Canary Black

My wife and I watch movies to be entertained. When this one finished I asked, "Were you entertained?" She replied, "Yes, I stayed awake the whole time." Which doesn't always happen on her comfortable couch.

There are a couple of quick reviews which don't say much and rate this movie "1". Which is absurd, no way this is a "1". The midpoint of a 1 to 10 rating system is 5.5, so this one is likely best rated as a 5, 6, or 7. No, it isn't a unique and great movie but it does have decent entertainment value.

Movies are a business, nothing else, and the Producer is Kate Beckinsale who also stars as Avery Graves. She is a high level secret operative, the kind that can put on a disguise, a fake identity, carry the weapons, and take out a whole crew when the assignment calls for it. As she mentions at one point, she has a high pain tolerance.

The overall story involves foreign operatives who have a scheme (using Canary Black) for getting about one trillion dollars by a ransom play that seeks to hit every nation on Earth, otherwise a doomsday virus will be selectively released that would basically doom the countries that don't comply. Avery has to save the day almost single handedly.

For the complexity of the story this is a relatively low budget movie shot in Croatia. For my tastes there is a bit too much gun battle and a somewhat questionable chase scene with some really bad crashes but it does serve to move the story forward. In the end Avery gets into lots of trouble because of the techniques she was required to use but the ending has a sort of "La Femme Nikita" feel to it. A chance to put it all behind her.

Will there be a sequel? Time will tell.

Streaming on Prime, good video and very impressive sound if you have a decent home theater setup.

We've seen this before. A very talented spy or thief or retired hitman is compelled to do something really really bad... perhaps even apocalyptic... to save a loved one from harm. Meanwhile said action star can't tell anybody and can't trust anybody... and everybody simply thinks the action star has gone "rogue".

If you've seen enough of these films, your antenna goes up almost immediately when you see the tortured loved one utter a dire plea "Honey.., just do what they say!" And therein lies the rub. For as talented and clever a spy as Kate Beckinsale, why couldn't she put 2 and 2 together like the rest of us.

Beckinsake, at age 51, is not quite as spry as her Underworld days or even her Total Recall stint - and even a platinum blonde wig doesn't do justice for her stunt double.

That said, highly evocative of The Blacklist and Alias in plot points and premises, the action is watchably entertaining in a streaming movie kind of way yet distinctly short of theatrical release quality.

The movie, as entertaining as it was for a Friday night on the couch, perhaps takes itself too seriously in pitching itself for a sequel. In the end, it felt like a pilot looking for a network pick up.

"Canary Black," directed by Pierre Morel (also known for "Peppermint"), delivers a solid dose of action, though it doesn't quite hit the mark like some of his previous work. Kate Beckinsale leads the charge with Rupert Friend and the late Ray Stevenson in support, but despite a strong cast, the film struggles with some corny dialogue and pacing issues. It takes a while for the story to pick up steam, and when it does, you're met with a number of plot holes that are hard to ignore. However, if you're willing to look past the flaws, it's still a fun, adrenaline-fueled ride. It's not groundbreaking, but for those craving an action flick, it gets the job done.

With a decent cast of familiar faces, passable action sequences, and some strange editing choices, this film delivers a safe/predictable take on the spy-action genre. It's a by-the-numbers experience that doesn't raise any eyebrows and is ultimately forgettable. It has a somewhat interesting change to the expected premise that doesn't really last long or pay off. Soon, we're back to a familiar "doomsday device" and world-ending MacGuffin plot that must be kept from falling into the wrong hands. An added attempt at a romance subplot that falls flat end up feeling underdeveloped and unnecessary. Lastly, the final 20 minutes are unexciting and predictable filler, dragging the movie to a close without much fanfare.

I wasn't expecting much.. but it still managed to be somewhat disappointing.

After an assignment in Tokyo, the dangerous CIA assassin Avery "Ave" Graves (Kate Beckinsale) returns home in Croatia to celebrate her marriage anniversary with her beloved husband David Brooks (Rupert Friend). Ave is a lonely woman that was raised to be a CIA operative since she was a teenager by her chief and friend Jarvis Hedlund (Ray Stevenson), the only person she trusts besides David. Out of the blue, David is kidnapped, and the kidnaper orders Ave to retrieve the Canary Black file that is hidden in the tooth of a CIA prisoner. She lures Agent Maxfield (Jaz Hutchins), who is responsible for the prisoner, but she does not find any file in the tooth. Now she is chased by the CIA that believe she is a traitor and has the Black Canary file; by the criminals who abducted David, since they also believe she has the file; and the Croatia Secret Service that has team up with the CIA to capture her. Meanwhile the clock is ticking, and David's life is in serious danger, and Ave needs to retrieve the Black Canary to save him.

"Canary Black" (2024) is one of those action movies where the viewer cannot think, such the number of flaws and holes in the screenplay. Avery Graves does not tell her friend and boss Jarvis Hedlund that her husband was kidnapped. After the messy situation she has created, she calls him, and he betrays her. When she finds the hideout of the criminals, he goes alone, with no backup from the CIA. She never shows the photography of David Brooks to the CIA personnel to prove he was kidnapped. David is shot in the stomach but fights, runs and jumps as if it was nothing. The consequences of the blackout in Singapore are never shown. Would it be so difficult to track down the bank account of the criminals since they involved all the countries in the world? The usual exaggeration is awful in this situation. The lovely Kate Beckinsale has a weird voice and accent as if she had been dubbed, and her thin lips with botox are not beautiful. The use of the unoriginal idea of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" (2005) does not work well in this movie. Unfortunately, this is the last movie of Ray Stevenson, who mysteriously died in Italy. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Canário Negro" ("Canary Black")