Canario negro

We've seen this before. A very talented spy or thief or retired hitman is compelled to do something really really bad... perhaps even apocalyptic... to save a loved one from harm. Meanwhile said action star can't tell anybody and can't trust anybody... and everybody simply thinks the action star has gone "rogue".

If you've seen enough of these films, your antenna goes up almost immediately when you see the tortured loved one utter a dire plea "Honey.., just do what they say!" And therein lies the rub. For as talented and clever a spy as Kate Beckinsale, why couldn't she put 2 and 2 together like the rest of us.

Beckinsake, at age 51, is not quite as spry as her Underworld days or even her Total Recall stint - and even a platinum blonde wig doesn't do justice for her stunt double.

That said, highly evocative of The Blacklist and Alias in plot points and premises, the action is watchably entertaining in a streaming movie kind of way yet distinctly short of theatrical release quality.

The movie, as entertaining as it was for a Friday night on the couch, perhaps takes itself too seriously in pitching itself for a sequel. In the end, it felt like a pilot looking for a network pick up.

I love Kate Beckinsale. In the past she delivered some really fun movies to watch but this film...Just ugh, not that great. Plot and story is blah and predictable. Why didn't they just kept her as an English agent? And for many scenes I didn't recognize her. I know we all age and it's fine but it just doesn't even look like her. Seems there had been some work done on the face but that's not even the important part, her acting is completely off. Just seems like a Temu version of the Kate we know. This movie made it seem like she's a mediocre actress who accepted this role for the heck of it. So disappointing...

"Canary Black," directed by Pierre Morel (also known for "Peppermint"), delivers a solid dose of action, though it doesn't quite hit the mark like some of his previous work. Kate Beckinsale leads the charge with Rupert Friend and the late Ray Stevenson in support, but despite a strong cast, the film struggles with some corny dialogue and pacing issues. It takes a while for the story to pick up steam, and when it does, you're met with a number of plot holes that are hard to ignore. However, if you're willing to look past the flaws, it's still a fun, adrenaline-fueled ride. It's not groundbreaking, but for those craving an action flick, it gets the job done.

I love Kate beckensale movies since underworld but I do not know why she sounds so different in this movie. Was she trying an accent, is she a smoker or sick during production? It did not match the performance and there are scenes where you could tell they dubbed in lines after the filming.

The plot is nonsense and they tried to add too many twists at the end. I expected more from the director having been behind Peppermint and Taken which I loved.

I wanted to like it but there were too many issues I couldn't look past.

It was shot well for an action movie with a lot of cuts. I get she is older and probably can't do the John wick one shots so I will give it a pass.

If you want a movie to just enjoy/kill time with them give it a watch. Try not to let the little things bother you and turn your brain off and maybe you can enjoy it more than me.

A better version of this movie I recommend is The Protoge with Maggie Q. It does this female spy/hitman theme better with a better cast.

Also it was sad this was Ray Stevenson's last role I think. I enjoyed watching him again so there is that.

This was a lot more fun than I expected. One might think one saw this same plot many times before. A highly trained woman CIA agent, whose husband has no idea what she does. Put into a blackmail situation where she is tasked to steal a highly secret and potentially explosive file if exposed. And she is given a short time to do that, and the person who is supposed to have the file on him doesn't. Of course the blackmailers won't take no for an answer. And the CIA considers that she has gone rogue. But the movie is fun to watch, and there are enough twists and turns to make things enjoyable, and builds to a nicely scripted climax.