Code Momentum

The action is really nice, even if it might start off on the wrong foot (or at least it feels like it does). There's conspiracy, there is fighting, there is shooting and there is chasing. What else would someone need? A more decent plot would be a helpful suggestion, but since there is none to be found here, let's roll with what we have and have a good time with it.

Olga is pretty fit (if you'll excuse the pun) and is able to pull off and make it look believable, what her character is going through in this movie. Sometimes it seems she is portrayed a bit weaker than she actually is, but that does not bother the flow of the movie too much. Light and fun entertainment, nothing more and nothing less

SPOILER: My quick rating 5,3/10. A pretty straight forward action movie with a really kewl looking robbery to start off with. When the main character (Olga Kurylenko) is accidentally seen on a supposed diamond heist, she must run from those that hired them to steal the diamonds, or was it for the diamonds at all? This leads to a cat and mouse game between them and does involve some interesting action sequences along with a solid female lead to be reckoned with. Not really anything new but enough flare to hold your attention, especially for a limited budget flick. I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel to this (the ending sorta leaves the door open) since this movie did well with what it had to work with.

It's not the greatest of the female-themed action adventures, but it's certainly watchable. I saw it because I'm a fan of James Purefoy and Olga Kurylenko. They were good in their roles, but each time Purefoy said one of his "Damn! She's good!" lines, it was silly. It wasn't that she was such a professional, it's more that the bad guys came across as rather inept. Some of it was tongue-in-cheek, such as when Purefoy's coat caught fire, he slowly took it off, saying "I liked that coat." There wasn't a great deal of urgency projected from the bad guys showing they needed to get back that drive quickly. Morgan Freeman's character was fairly a mute point in the movie. They could've stuck any actor -- famous or not -- in that role, that's how superfluous his character was. All in all, it was entertaining. Having seen him play Blackbeard and Joe Carroll, I have to say James Purefoy does the bad guy roles very good.

I gave this a 5-star rating. I'd recommend this if you liked Colombiana and Salt. It's not as good as either of those movies, but it's along the same lines, and Kurylenko is good in the few action scenes she's in.

It's quite ironic that the title is called Momentum seeing that the pace is rather slow for an action movie. Credit for trying to set up espionage twists along the bullet spree, but things eventually feel like they are conveniently forced to make the heroine look good. Still, Olga Kurylenko does look fittingly attractive and strong for the female role, the action is also fairly presentable for a leisure watch.

Alex (Olga Kurylenko) is an operative who got caught in a web of conspiracy after a botched heist. She must try to survive from other agents while trying to figure out the secret agenda. Like Milla Jovovich or Angelina Jolie before her, Olga admittedly looks the part. She's nimble and athletic enough to pull off the operative persona, which is already half or even most of the movie's appeal.

James Purefoy as Mr. Washington is convincing as the antagonist, it feels like he's comfortable on suave charismatic villain after his role in The Following series. Morgan Freeman rounds out the cast, he appears in so many movies lately and for a good reason, relatively. His past few roles might just be supporting ones but he does give air of authority when he's present and a famous name can't hurt.

The main problem is the movie tries to incorporate too many angles, be it may the sinister villain and some unexpected allies. However, these subplots don't really mash well together, in the end it resorts to cheap Deus Ex Machina twist and even stalls the pace. Some of the characters might feel out of place or simply appear out of nowhere when plot demands them. The tricks used are far from refined, which make it even more far fetch when the movie tries too hard to sell them.

These flaws notwithstanding, Momentum does offer what expected of it; a strong female lead shooting through and outsmarting her foes. It may not receive many merits from the story or consistency, at times it seems like watching a femme fatale wearing heavy plot armor. but it delivers a decent action for simple movie night.

I am surprised by the low reviews after watching this film. I expected a film full of clichés and bad acting, but what was delivered was quite entertaining. If you went into this filming wanting action packed scenes, thrilling chase scenes and just a lot of gun fights...you will be surely delighted. I found the relationship between the main antagonist and protagonist very refreshing. The sheer admiration that the antagonist made the film more interesting. I guess my rating could be a bit bias as I am a big Nikita (tv show) fan and this film reminded me very much of that. Anyways, if it's Friday night and you are looking for an action packed film to kick back to, this will not disappoint.