Camino

Loved this movie. Lately I struggle finding movies with depth, character, quality and not just violence, drugs and porn. This movie reminded me how important journalism is to the oppressed and broken. They go to wars with cameras not guns showing truth not opinion removing self, chancing death, seeing so much pain and carnage! Watch this movie it is up there with the best I've seen in awhile!!

I like Zoe so was more than willing to be entertained, but the Directors vision lets the story down. The lame 'introduction' for example; wft? Do yourself a favor and Fast Forward thru the first 10 minutes of 'Character development' because its a disaster and imho counter-productive and damaging to the film overall. Nothing in that first 10 minutes creates any empathy or positive connection to the character.

Seriously,the first 10 minutes are a waste of time and would have been best left on the cutting room floor. The opening Credits begin at the 10:00minute mark, start there and the experience will be greatly improved.

This is a film about a photojournalist who gets in over her head.

Zoe Bell does a great job with the role, and the supporting cast is excellent.

It is exciting, fun, and tense. The scenery is beautiful.

It is sweet to see a female action figure who actually looks like she could do it. Bell is a stunt double, who looks like she could take down a lot of men. She is athletic and quick.

She also happens to be a good actress.

Want a fun evening with a movie that won't make you think or leave you feeling bad? This one is a good bet. My wife and I both enjoyed it, and we are not enamored with just any old movie.

Zoë Bell's skill as a stunt performer is indisputable, and she has demonstrated fine capability as an actor, too. I'm not expressly familiar with filmmaker Josh C. Waller or writer Daniel Noah, but in the very least both have some significant credits to their names as producers, and while it wasn't perfect I very much enjoyed Waller's previous feature 'Raze,' also starring Bell. The premise sounds very promising; in addition to some fine cinematography from Noah Greenberg, the instances of still photography that we see at select points are a sight for sore eyes, too. As the narrative picks up Kreng's original score, harsh and discordant, lends considerable ambience to the proceedings, and the sound design and fundamental image are both crisp and vivid. The stunts, effects, fight choreography, and action sequences at large are outstanding; the cast give admirable performances. From costume design, hair, and makeup, to filming locations and sets, all the basics of the picture are splendid, and 'Camino' can boast high production values among the best of contemporary fare. If you want an action thriller, you've got it, and overall it's solid, including firm direction.

"Solid," however, does not necessarily mean flawless, and with all due respect to Noah, the screenplay is without question the Achilles heel of this movie. The major shifts in the story - that beat around the half-hour mark that distinctly kicks off the action, and the later beat around the one-hour mark wherein supporting characters gain a clear picture of the situation - are weak and unconvincing, plot points written in outline form without the supporting narrative structure at any time to help them feel sensible. Characters are very poorly written and make choices that are utterly flummoxing, including even protagonist Avery; too much of the dialogue is outright rubbish, to say nothing of discrete, baffling decisions as to how Spanish and English are used. Even action sequences are flimsily inserted, providing a shower of sparks at irregular intervals with their violence but not being meaningfully and cohesively written into the course of events. The overall story is ultimately so light that it kind of feels unfinished, as if we're not really getting a complete saga. For example, there are mild suggestions at times of a psychological element, and 'Camino' could have been the corruption of a photojournalist who by necessity of survival becomes a killer; there are sideways intimations of something supernatural at work, or at least unnatural or mystical, and this angle could have been latched onto more concretely. There are also themes on hand that could have been explored more, including not least the perception of a moral grey area. Yet from beginning to end, in the plot ideas that we do get and in the scene writing, in the antagonist's "motivations" and in the specific experiences of our protagonist along the way, the writing instead comes off as an ill-considered, dubious jumble of half-baked, ill-fitting notions. There are good ideas here, certainly, but the form that they take individually and in combination simply do not make for a cogent, compelling viewing experience.

There really is a great deal to appreciate here, with terrific craftsmanship across the board, sharp action, and story ideas that could and should have been molded into something dark and gripping. Sadly, the film really just flounders when it comes to the particular shape that the screenplay takes: an excess of exposition, a chintzy ending, a massive info dump in the last stretch to explain all, and all-around choices that are irritating, tiresome, and/or perplexing. I see what 'Camino' could have been, and I don't for one moment doubt the earnestness of anyone's contributions. I don't doubt anyone's capabilities, either - save for Noah, unfortunately, whose writing in this instance leaves much to be desired. I'm glad for those who get more out of this than I do, and enjoy it more; I see strengths that are overshadowed by faults, and those faults rest entirely on the shoulders of one person. I feel bad being so critical, but we do no one any favors by giving false praise. I don't altogether dislike this flick, but it's no more than half of what it might have been. Watch if you like - it's best suggested for those who are major fans of Bell or someone else involved - but I think this needed a significant overhaul to meet its full potential.

As I'm writing this, Camino has a score of 4.8, which is an excessively low score. I've actually noticed a trend on IMDb where a lot of films are given extremely poor ratings when they're just not that bad and Camino is definitely one of these films. It's unfortunate because I know some people will watch or not watch a film based on the IMDb score, which means a lot of good or decent movies are probably being missed out on.

A lot of other reviewers are complaining of bad acting, but I can only assume they are exaggerating or just haven't watched a wide range of films. The acting is not "bad" - it's not necessarily award-winning stuff, but it's certainly not bad. Usually, if I'm watching a film with bad acting, I find it difficult to get into as I can't become absorbed in it and am constantly aware that I'm watching (bad) actors, but that never happened once to me while watching Camino. I think Zoe Bell is actually very impressive for a stunt-woman-turned- actress.

Also, do not skip the first ten minutes of the film as another reviewer said, it is relevant to the film and what happens during the first ten minutes helps to make sense of another scene that happens around midway through the film.

The only thing I would criticize is that Zoe Bell's character seems a little too skilled in combat for a photojournalist going up against militia members who've presumably had experience in guerilla warfare. It's saved, though, by the fact that most of the fighting lacks any crazy martial arts moves on Zoe Bell's part and instead sticks to dirty, survival style fighting, maintaining an element of realism.

Overall, I think this movie is pretty solid and I've definitely seen a lot worse.