Horas desesperadas (Cuenta atrás)

Review by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK) Rating: 3.5/5 stars

An intriguing concept that could have fallen flat on its face with the kind of premise and setting it's based in. On the surface the film does appear to be too one-dimensional, linear, and somber for a disaster film. Also, initially, it does tend to lag a bit and might permeate a false sense of tedious pacing, so it's important that you be patient and allow yourself the chance to be rewarded as the pace and tension kicks in with further proceedings.

Kudos to the Director for keeping his viewers engrossed till the end and making us care enough for the only two relevant characters in the entire film, to the point that we simply need to find out their eventual fate. What you must understand before approaching "Hours" is that it isn't your staple disaster movie bonanza, infused with state-pf-the-art SFX and high octane action and suspense. Yes, the suspense and tension is there, but in a much more dramatic and character driven sort of way.

Coming down to the performances, there is virtually just one actor in the entire film and nobody else. With just a newborn infant for company throughout the film and a St. Bernard canine towards the latter half for added measure, Paul Walker astoundingly shoulders the entire film and his performance gradually grows on you. Sadly we won't get to see any more of his newly harnessed acting skills, so revel in what is indubitably his best act ever. May his soul rest in peace.

I heard about the movie a little bit before the passing of Paul Walker and the storyline intrigued me. I didn't choose to watch this movie because it would be Mr. Walker's last. We all know that he will still have a bit role in Fast and Furious 7. I am glad that I decided to watch this movie and are happy to see Paul Walker do something other than drive a car. The movie really hits home with the reality of what you would do to survive and how selfless service applies to individuals differently depending on the circumstances. You get to see a man who literally puts everything on the line to keep his ailing daughter alive in a defunct hospital that gets bombarded by Hurricane Katrina. Depending on the person you may see a bit of yourself in the main character. You might be able to envision yourself in the same circumstances and how you would act and rationale every action you took. I am not asking you to pick through this movie with a fine tooth comb. I am just asking you to simply spend two hours of your life enjoying Paul Walker in a vehicle other than a Skyline. I promise it is time well spent.

¨Every second counts.¨

Hours is Eric Heisserer's first feature film, but he is mostly known for his screenplays for The Thing (the 2010 version) and Final Destination 5. He takes a pretty interesting premise but fails in the delivery as the film has too many awkward moments with a lot of forced dialogues. Take the scene where Paul Walker's character is being given very bad news from a doctor concerning his wife. The scene felt entirely forced and never managed to draw the audience in. There are numerous scenes like that in Hours that just feel completely out of place. Paul Walker is on his own for the majority of the film and once the story began to drag it failed to engage me. There were few thrills and hardly any action scenes. For the most part it was just seeing Walker speaking out loud to his recently born infant, or to a rescue dog he encountered later on in the film. When he wasn't speaking to himself, the film gave us unnecessary flashbacks about how he and his wife met. Hours should've been a film full of tension, but Heisserer failed to deliver by adding so many unnecessary and forced scenes and not relying on Walker's physical performance alone.

The film takes place in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina as Nolan (Paul Walker) takes his pregnant wife, Abigail (Genesis Rodriguez), to a local hospital as she enters early labor. The Hurricane is about to hit the city hard while the doctors ask Nolan to stay in the waiting room while they treat Abigail. A few hours later Doctor Jeremy (TJ Hassan) comes bearing some bad news. Abigail had a complicated labor, the newborn baby has to stay on a ventilator for the next 48 hours until she learns how to breath on her own. The mother didn't make it. Making matters worse, the hospital is hit hard by the hurricane, forcing everyone to evacuate. Nolan is told to stay in the hospital with the baby until an ambulance can come back and take them to safer ground. Cut from the outside world, Nolan is on his own forced to make quick decisions in order to save his baby's life.

If as the tagline suggests ¨Every second counts¨ than Eric Heisserer did a very lousy job because there are several seconds wasted on this film. It dragged during several moments making me feel like I was watching an over two hour film, when in reality it was just a 95 minute movie. Paul Walker isn't bad in this film, but he just isn't given the right material to carry a film on his own. The most exciting moments of the film came when a rescue dog showed up and it kind of brought life to an otherwise lifeless film. Hours is full of awkward and dull moments that bring down this film. Walker could have been given less dialogue and the flashbacks should've been cut out of the film. Some more external shots of the storm might have worked better because the wreckage scenes were pretty well shot. Overall it wasn't a terrible film, but it did fail to keep me entertained or invested in the story.

In August 2005, in New Orleans, Nolan Hayes (Paul Walker) brings his pregnant wife Abigail (Genesis Rodriguez) with Eclampsia to the Saint Mary Hospital. Abigail delivers a premature baby and dies and the baby needs to be kept in a ventilator. A few hours later, the Hurricane Katrina hits the hospital, cutting the power and the hospital is evacuated. Nolan stays with his daughter since the equipment is not portable and soon he finds that the battery is in the end of its life and only can hold three minutes of charge. He finds a battery charge and has initially to crank every three minutes. As long as time goes by, the battery holds less charge. But the situation gets worse when marauders invade the hospital.

"Hours" is a dramatic and tense movie with Paul Walker that has magnificent performance in the role of a father that struggles to keep his baby alive during the tragedy of the Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The screenplay is filled with his recollections of his beloved wife that breaks the tension. Despite the story is almost theatrical in one location, it never disappoints. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Contagem Regressiva" ("Countdown")

This film in a sentence: What a father will do to keep his premature daughter alive, when the world is falling down around him.

Why this film isn't receiving a better rating I won't know. This is the best acting from Paul Walker I think anyone will have seen. Just watch it (especially if you thought 'The Impossible' was a great piece of film)

One of the core roles a man feels he needs to provide for his family is protection and to provide; this film shows this by putting Nolan (Walker) in scenarios where you feel his struggle to keep the only thing he has safe.