Fugitivo

Ben Logan (Aaron Eckhart) is a security technology researcher in Belgium for the Halgate Group. His daughter Amy (Liana Liberato) is not happy with the move after losing her mother. He reports a missing patent in their tech to his boss Derek Kohler. Later, he discovers that the office suddenly cleared out and the head office has no records of him. A co-worker kidnaps them but Ben manages to kill him. Clues lead to his former life with co-worker Anna Brandt (Olga Kurylenko) and a vast murderous conspiracy.

There is a bit of Bourne and Taken but less. It has Eckhart. It should be good but it's only passable. The setup is interesting but any early momentum slowly fades away. It becomes formulaic without anything new or particularly great. The action is lacking something special. Having the daughter presents some potential but it ends up being more of the same. This needs some imagination and sizzle to elevate it to a higher level.

Firstly the dialogue is idiotic. If a group is going to make a film in English at least they should have had one English speaking proof-reader go over the script. Shooting half a dozen people to steal something is not a "burglary." It's a "robbery." Ships are not "excavated." They are "salvaged." There are about 100 usage mistakes that just make the dialogue silly.

The overall story line is the most absurd and dumbed down jumble of clichés I have seen in a long time. An entire series of improbable situations strain even the most open minded viewer.

Avoid this tedious excuse for a film.

That's the German title translated into English. It takes the name of the main character and tries something with it. Aaron Eckhardt is always good and he delivers here too. Even in moments you see him being weak (or making mistakes, especially concerning his daughter or his relationship with her). Having said that, his daughter does act very crazy. Now you could excuse that behavior by saying she's a teenager, but you might also be very annoyed by this.

Either way, the relationship daughter/father does work nice for the movie. There is also a theme running with the father and his trust issues, that is not fully explored. But it still has some fine moments. The tension is high and the movie delivers on the chase scenes too. Not a masterpiece by a long shot, but a nice watch

Who's voting here? What do we ask of an action/thriller? 1. Action 2. Suspense that will keep you interested. Hopefully - this can be done intelligently. To do this with intelligence - and good acting - are bonuses. This Film delivered on all these counts. Post-film/editing sometimes don't find the perfect fit and the camera filters/ video are on the dark side (not enough light). Some plot details are muffled along the way but it does not get in the way of the entertainment value. The cast, story, intent and execution - are all there. Emphasis of genre is on "thriller" with some fairly good, fast action scenes that appear professional/credible. Main actors all performed well. Secondaries performances were... secondary. This film will not disappoint.

Erased (2012)

Can we make a new genre here? British/American executive/spy/father gets in trouble in Europe and has to go on the run with corporate/government/counterspy evil everywhere.

I could list some (never mind the great Bourne films, which are extremes of the type). Certainly the "Taken" films (there are three now) are the closest parallel, but even "The International" comes to mind in the same vein. All of these have a sense of fear and darkness about the global order that glooms down on the characters.

And "Erased" is powerfully made, with good claustrophobic and jittery camera-work, believable acting, and a reasonable (if roughly familiar) plot. You get swept up quickly, as Aaron Eckhart juggles a high-security job and a teenage daughter going to private school. Through a quick (a peanut allergy) he avoids an early death and the movie takes off. All along the daughter is both emotional fodder for the feeling side of the film and a bit of a formative action figure (now and then). But it's dad who is really showing his smarts and fighting skills as an ex-CIA man.

Set in beautiful Belgium, the scenes range from those gorgeous old Europe streets and government buildings to the new Europe and high end glass corporate life. And then to the new, growing minority areas where Arabs and other Muslims live. Part of this emphasis might come from the main writer on the story, Arash Amel, who surely paints the division of cultures in a sympathetic way. Director Philip Stolzl is one of the newer generation of German mainstream directors with an eye for sweeping fast visuals and a solid plot ("North Face" is highly recommended). He, perhaps too much like Tom Tykwer, is taking a detour into some well-worn territory here, but showing his chops.

Expect to never be bored, to never know quite what might happen next, and to enjoy the ride kinetically. Even if nothing quite original happens. Ever.