24 horas para vivir

"24 Hours To Live" is one of the better action films I've seen all year and surprisingly came out of nowhere on VOD with little fanfare. It is a must watch for any fan of the genre. It is loaded from beginning to end with plenty of solid R rated action. Shootouts, car chases and practical stuntwork with little to no CGI. Plus an explosive action packed climax that reminded me of the classic finale in "Hard Boiled". Ethan Hawke hasn't racked up a body count like this since the "Assault on Precinct 13" remake. An underrated movie that will no doubt be overlooked as a John Wick clone, but if you enjoyed those films, you'll like this. In my opinion, this will go down as a cult classic in the genre similar to the direct to DVD Universal Soldier sequels. If you consider yourself an action purist like myself, this movie is for you.

7.5/10

Well, here goes. I had low expectations, even though the viewer ratings were all over the board. It was fun, exciting, and had a lot of action. It was somewhat different than the John Wick references, but I can understand the comparison. It was science fiction folks, and I don't watch science fiction. But I did watch this movie because I didn't realize it was in fact science fiction. Ethan Hawke, the star who I've never appreciated before, did a dandy job. My opinion of his acting skills took a giant leap forward. Well done, Ethan, you finally deserve some respect.

1. Bad CGI. The use of CG blood ruined the parts that could have been really good. I don't see any reviews here pointing this out like in many other movies (John Wick) that use this shi**y effect and rarely gets called out. Imagine if they used the tried and tested blood squib, it would totally change the quality of this film.

2. The action is good overall but its lacking oomph. The pacing feels rushed. A lot of times the sound effects are not on point. The background music would drown the gunshots and everything else. The gun shots can range as loud as the footsteps. The balance is off.

3. Plot holes, some characters would know things that they shouldn't and would be in places that are questionable.

That being said, the story was surprisingly decent. There was chemistry between the characters. I like Travis' portrayal. I was able to connect with him without the story cheating. You don't get to see exactly what happened to his past or how it happened, it is unraveled bit by bit as the story goes.

Despite all of these flaws, it still came out decent. If only the things I've mentioned were put into use this film could even score as high as 8/10.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this is a great movie. By all means no. It has a decent plot, couple of twists and well acted characters.

What i want to focus on is the primary goal of every action movie: delivering understandable action. Now since "John Wick" came out i've watched a lot of action movies and started to notice a change in the way action is filmed and edited. Of course there are a lot of quick cut/shaky madness action films from recent years, but for every "Sleepless" you get a movie like "Acts of Vengeance", for every "Kickboxer 2" you get "Boyka: Undisputed", for "The Hunter's Prayer" you get "Bushwick" and for "American Assassin" you get "24 Hours to Live". What i mean by this? These movies actually let us see what is going on in terms of action scenes.

In this particular movie when Ethan Hawke fights, we see all of it. No quick cuts. The camera moves in wide angle, giving us a clear view. Gun fights have clear sense of direction and geography. Even shootouts during car chase are done better, than in larger films. Now is it as good as "John Wick Chapter Two" or "Atomic Blonde"? No! But it's better than most.

So if you want to watch and enjoy an Action film, where you don't get lost in the action itself, i definitely recommend this movie.

I know Ethan Hawke used to starring in a lot of action movie but he never strike the lead action hero in my eyes until i saw 24 Hours to Live.His always sad and tired face intentional or unintentional make he fit the role perfectly that add a lot of emotional into the cliché dialogue.The movie is pure action from start to finish make it a good Saturday night flick when you lazy to go out.The ending is terrible btw