La negociadora

This movie really is awful. The script is completely disjointed and flows like hardened concrete as it cuts from here to there to over there. Don't even attempt to watch this movie as you will undoubtedly regret it.

The trailer is a trap. The poster is another trap. Would say it was a waste of money but clearly this movie was made with no budget at all. Such a shame wasting actors like Robert Kneeper or Gary Dourdan in this (intent) of a movie. A lot of plot holes. Lots of inconsistencies. Poor storytelling. Disjointed chapters which does not match even with glue. Fatal mistakes. I mean you can even see the shadow of the cameraman several times. Poor cropped scenes (specially the slow changes with stunt doubles, the killing scenes). The transitions when the actors walk towards the camera O.o. The protagonist lacks of character and thoughness which never showed up. Everything was wrong. I sacrificed myself and had to finish the movie until the end to have the proper arguments to make this review and hopefully save your souls from watching this punishment.

Never heard about "The Moderator" from writers Hicham Hajji and Jonathan McConnell before sitting down to watch it. But since I do believe in given a movie a fair chance, of course I sat down to watch "The Moderator" as I had the opportunity to do so.

First of all, I think the fact that the movie is using the grizzly murder of two Scandinavian women in Morocco back in 2018 as its foundation was sort of improper and distasteful, especially to those left behind after that tragedy. So that left a somewhat foul taste in my mouth.

The storyline itself, if you remove the abovementioned aspect, was actually fair enough. Sure, this wasn't exactly a groundbreaking action thriller, but the movie was watchable enough for what it turned out to be.

The acting in the movie was adequate, and I was surprised to see the likes of Robert Knepper and Gary Dourdan in a movie such as this. And just how or why lead actress Irma Lake was hired for this movie was simply beyond my comprehension. Sure, she was able to throw a punch and do physical fighting, but she wasn't really blessed with much of any noticeably acting talent.

Is it just me, but does it raise an eyebrow when a supposedly dead man twitches an eye?

The music in the movie was actually rather good, and somewhat well composed.

"The Moderator" came and went without leaving a lasting impression on me. And while it is was a movie that I managed to sit through, it is not a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time.

My rating of director Zhor Fassi-Fihri's 2022 action thriller "The Moderator" lands on a four out of ten stars.

Okay, Let's start with the poster. I think that's probably the only good thing about this movie. So, props to the graphic designer though the poster is more like a watchbait. It literally has nothing to do with the content of the film or what you'd expect from it. She's holding two guns with thousands of bullets surrounding her yet she never used a single gun in the entire movie. Oh, and I don't think I remember a single shot being fired in general. So, yeah! I feel tricked by the poster.

Now let's talk about the stroy plot. I think it was written by a 5-year-old. It's cluncky and predictable. Not to mention the endless errors that can't even be fixed by CGI. 7 minutes in it says Miami, FL while it's clearly Rabat, Morocco. I mean they didn't even bother to shoot the first chase scene somewhere where Hassan Tower (the most famous landmark in Rabat) can't be seen.

Next, we head to Morocco where the lead character is trying to avenge the death of her two friends. The cops couldn't be more rediculous. They seem to have graduated from Insp. Jacques Clouseau's academy.

The conversations between the characters can't be more confusing. Two moroccan cops converse in English, next minute the question a Moroccan boy in Arabic. Why? Just why on earth would you do that? You either make an entire movie in English so everyone can undersand it, or keep the original language when it should be. That's why Inglorious Basterds is one of my all time favorite. Tarantino respected every language used in the movie.

My only hope was that it could be saved by Prison Break's Robert Knepper, but he didn't really seem really interested in acting in this film. I think he just got paid to be himself. On a second that, I'm glad he was equally bad. He probably had to lower his standards otherwise the final result would be unbalanced.

Final thoughts: I was hoping that this would deal with the real event that took place in Morocco and deal with terrorists in a Liam Nesson Kind of way, but the movie went into another direction that has nothing to do with terrorism.

I highly don't recommed watching this.

Looking for a top tier suspense thriller? This isn't it. Looking for a classic style "B" movie to make fun of as you choke down your lunch and laugh your way through the adventure? This is definitely it. Stop expecting low budget movies to be perfect in every way and just enjoy them for what they are. Wonderfully awful.