Ruthless

Director:** Art Camacho **Cast:** Dermot Mulroney, Melissa Diaz, Jeff Fahey, Mauricio Mendoza **Genre:** Action/Thriller

**Synopsis:** "Ruthless" tells the story of Harry, a high school wrestling coach played by Dermot Mulroney, who is grieving the brutal murder of his teenage daughter. When one of his students, Catia, is kidnapped by a human trafficking ring, Harry takes justice into his own hands, determined to rescue her and dismantle the trafficking operation. The plot of "Ruthless" is built on a foundation of personal loss and vengeance, reminiscent of films like "Taken." Despite its promising premise, the film suffers from weak and clichéd writing. The dialogue often feels forced and unnatural, detracting from the overall impact of the story. The narrative struggles to find its footing, leading to a somewhat predictable and derivative storyline.

Art Camacho, known for his work in low-budget action films, directs "Ruthless" with a focus on gritty realism. However, the film's production quality leaves much to be desired. The budget constraints are evident in the lack of polished action sequences and overall production design. The movie's tone and pacing are inconsistent, with significant lulls between the action scenes that fail to build adequate suspense

**Performances:** Dermot Mulroney delivers a committed performance as Harry, bringing a palpable sense of grief and determination to his character. However, his efforts are not enough to elevate the film above its shortcomings. Melissa Diaz, as Catia, also provides a noteworthy performance, though her character is not fully developed, often falling into stereotypical victim tropes. Jeff Fahey's portrayal of the villainous Dale Remington is serviceable but lacks depth.

**Action and Cinematography:** The action sequences, while present, are sparse and lack the intensity typically expected in a revenge thriller. When action does occur, it is often clunky and poorly choreographed, diminishing the film's potential impact. The cinematography fails to create the necessary atmosphere, often appearing flat and uninspired.

**Themes and Messages:** "Ruthless" attempts to tackle serious issues such as human trafficking and the quest for justice. While the film's intentions are commendable, its execution leaves much to be desired. The thematic exploration feels superficial, and the film does not engage deeply enough with its subject matter to leave a lasting impression.

**Overall:** "Ruthless" is a film with a compelling premise that ultimately falls short due to weak writing, inconsistent direction, and subpar production values. While Dermot Mulroney's performance is a highlight, it is not enough to overcome the film's numerous flaws. Fans of the action-thriller genre might find some moments of interest, but overall, "Ruthless" struggles to stand out in a crowded field.

A man with skills(a tp agent/a school coach) go after a criminal organization that deal human trafficking to rescue his(daughter/student). He has support from a cop and also some guy who sells technology stuff. In the end, he rescues the girls and tears apart the organization.

Well, the plot is obviously a copy of the great TAKEN, including even the senior hero - a man too old to perform the task in hand. It is not bad, has a little action, but the drama is lame and the actors...apart from Mulroney and Fahey, are pretty lame.

Not a complete waste of time, but you already saw this before. And more than once. Disappointed with the end - i was expected some vengeance.

A basic revenge action flick. I've always liked Dermot... he's embraced the straight to DVD/B-movie flicks in his later years. Fahey went the B-movie route years ago (I was always surprised he didn't make it bigger than he has). There are plenty of holes in the pretty much non-existent/basic plot, but it was't terrible. The more brutal action sequences were reminiscent of the early Seagal stuff... before he gained 200lbs and slapped that ridiculous rug on his head!

The only really bad part was the executive producer inserting himself into the movie as the detective... he's absolutely terrible. No screen prescence at all. He looks like he's just reading lines. That was a bad call... enough so that I looked it up to see who he was. When I saw how bad he was compared to EVERYONE else, I figured he was involved behind the scenes... and I was right. I don't mean to be harsh (I'm sure he's a great guy), but he needs to stop trying to get in front of the cameras.

It was no "Death Wish", but it wasn't a total waste of time. I made it through the entire film and the action scenes were decent.

Why did I watch this? That is what I kept asking myself as this very predictable revenge "thriller" rolled on. I know why, I paid my 4 dollars to Amazon Prime and if I paid for it I'm going to watch it. Well, truth be told, didn't watch the whole thing, my finger was on the fast forward button.

It was loaded with bad writing, bad acting and waayy too predictable.

All Dermot had was breaking bones?! I mean, come on, everybody gets at least one bone broken. The title of this terrible flick should have been the Bone Breaker.

Now, I am going to have to watch something really good to wash the taste out of mouth, like Poor Things.

Dermot Mulroney is excellent in the lead role. Enjoyable throwback (with modern theme) to some of the classic action/revenge type movies enjoyed in the 90's.

At times the dialogue feels a little clunky but that comes with the territory, still ok. A little dry humor mixed in between the serious moments worked.

I didn't expect to enjoy this but i absolutely did and the ending was satisfying (very different to what i usually watch with grim, unresolved or unspecified endings). Would i recommend to others? Probably depending on people's taste.

Recently watched Dermot in another role as a support (bad guy) did not do him justice as this film has.