24 heures à vivre

With an interesting plot and Ethan Hawke in the lead, it's baffling how this movie turned out so mediocre. 24 Hours To Live has some cool John Wick action scenes but they can be easily overlooked by the flawed and predictable story that left me bored halfway through.

Travis Conrad (Ethan Hawke) is a former mercenary agent that worked to the notorious Red Mountain agency. Now he misses his beloved wife Kate (Jenna Upton) and son Adam (Owen de Wet) that died, and lives with his father-in-law Frank (Rutger Hauer) in Florida. One night, Travis is drinking in a bar and his former partner and friend Jim Morrow (Paul Anderson) offers him two million dollars per day to assassinate the former agent Keith Zera (Tyrone Keogh), who is a whistleblower that will disclose secrets about the Red Mountain. Zera is now under the protection of the efficient Interpol agent Lin Bisset (Qing Xu). Travis accepts the assignment, uses Lin's son Christopher (Jeremy Yong) to learn the whereabouts of his mother and has one night stand with her to find where Keith Zera is in her cellphone, but does not kill Lin in the morning. However, Lin discovers what Travis did and kills him. Out of the blue, Travis is revived by the mysterious Dr. Helen (Nathalie Boltt) that has developed a revival procedure after several experiments to the boss Wetzler (Liam Cunningham). Travis discloses the whereabouts of Keith Zera and is betrayed by Wetzler, and learns that he has only 24 hours to live. Now he decides to help Lin Bisset and destroy Red Mountain seeking redemption.

"24 Hours to Live" is a flawed but full of action feature film, with Ethan Hawke performing an action hero surprisingly good, which is uncommon to his successful career. It is also a chance to see the unforgettable Dutch actor Rutger Hauer again. The story is flawed, like action movies shall be, but it is highly attractive and underrated. Further, it is filmed in locations in South Africa, China and United States of America, with many car crashes. The conclusion gives a chance to the character Travis Conrad appears in another film, but after so many years, it seems that the studios are not interested. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Um Dia Para Viver" ("One Day to Live")

Well, here goes. I had low expectations, even though the viewer ratings were all over the board. It was fun, exciting, and had a lot of action. It was somewhat different than the John Wick references, but I can understand the comparison. It was science fiction folks, and I don't watch science fiction. But I did watch this movie because I didn't realize it was in fact science fiction. Ethan Hawke, the star who I've never appreciated before, did a dandy job. My opinion of his acting skills took a giant leap forward. Well done, Ethan, you finally deserve some respect.

"24 Hours To Live" is one of the better action films I've seen all year and surprisingly came out of nowhere on VOD with little fanfare. It is a must watch for any fan of the genre. It is loaded from beginning to end with plenty of solid R rated action. Shootouts, car chases and practical stuntwork with little to no CGI. Plus an explosive action packed climax that reminded me of the classic finale in "Hard Boiled". Ethan Hawke hasn't racked up a body count like this since the "Assault on Precinct 13" remake. An underrated movie that will no doubt be overlooked as a John Wick clone, but if you enjoyed those films, you'll like this. In my opinion, this will go down as a cult classic in the genre similar to the direct to DVD Universal Soldier sequels. If you consider yourself an action purist like myself, this movie is for you.

7.5/10

I read the reviews pre-watching. In fact, the reviews are why I pushed it off.

I actually enjoyed this flick.

Yes, it was extremely predictable. This movie has been done 1000 different times, but still good!