Men on Fire

Just watched this on the Sony Movie Channel and to be fair they do pump out some good films almost as well as Film4 and this is no exception.

I have always liked Thomas Jane since I saw him in The Mist and many other films as he straddles the ability to fit in as an Action movie star but with the ability to handle the drama and romance softer side of acting which is no mean feat these days.

This movie is action packed full of gruesome violence but yet has a solid story and good characterization and is one of those movies set in a static confined location which is not an easy thing to accomplish by any director but Adam Alleca pulls it off with aplomb and deserves full credit for taking a basic story and making it into a riveting and engaging action/thriller.

I loved the surprise ending; it almost gets an extra star just for that but it deserves a very solid 7/10 stars from me as it was a most unexpected and enjoyable evenings movie viewing.

'STANDOFF': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Low-budget action flick, about a standoff between a war veteran and an assassin, in the veteran's country home; over the safety of a young girl, who witnessed a vicious crime. The movie stars Thomas Jane, Laurence Fishburne and newcomer Ella Ballentine. It was written and directed by first time feature filmmaker Adam Alleca. For what it is, the film isn't bad.

Jane plays Carter Green; a military veteran that recently suffered a horrible tragedy. He's now a depressed alcoholic, that lives alone and contemplates suicide. Fishburne plays a hit-man named Sade; who's very good at his job, and extremely calculated. When a young girl, named Bird (Ballentine), witnesses Sade killing multiple people, the hit- man decides she must die. Bird runs to Carter's house for protection, and an intense standoff between the two men develops. Carter has nothing but a shotgun, and two rounds, to protect him and the girl.

The movie is pretty well done, for such a simple story. The characters are nicely developed, the performances are decent, and the directing is more than adequate (especially for such a low budget film). With all that said, there's still not a lot to the movie; and I don't think I'll probably remember much about it, years from now. Still, I had a good time while I was watching it.

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I went into this totally expecting a very middle of the road flick... But i was surprised no end by how invested you become in this movie! The characters might only be very loosely thrown at us,and yet you cant hep feeling attached to them. The wounded vet... The heartless hitman.... And of course the innocent victim... And yet this flick finds a heart to it that i cant explain!!!

When I stumbled upon this 2016 thriller here in 2021, I had to sit down and watch it right away, as the movie had both Thomas Jane and Laurence Fishburne on the cast list. And as I never had heard about the movie, I didn't know what it was about. But that was hardly an issue given the cast ensemble.

And now that I have seen "Standoff", I must admit that writer and director Adam Alleca definitely managed to put together an entertaining movie and an interesting storyline. Sure, the movie takes place at essentially just a single small location, but the interaction between the characters and the growing tension is what carries the movie, not to mention the good acting performances.

While "Standoff" is entertaining and watchable, this was hardly the type of thriller that you will return to watch a second time, as the contents of the storyline just doesn't have enough meat on it to support that. This is the type of thriller that you just enjoy once.

Now the acting performances by Thomas Jane and Laurence Fishburne were good and they had such good on screen chemistry between them. But the movie also had Ella Ballentine on the cast list, and I don't believe I am at all familiar with her acting performances, but she really managed to put on a good and believable performance in "Standoff".

My rating of "Standoff" lands on a six out of ten stars.

A Little, Low-Budget, and Suspenseful Scenario that is a lot Better than You would expect. It has Style and is Scripted for a Battle of Wits between Laurence Fishburne and Thomas Jane.

Fishburne is a Nasty Piece of Work and is appropriately Chilling as a Hit-Man that is Despicable, Cold, and Calculating. Jane Surprises with His Best Acting after a string of Awful Movies and for once He made a Career Decision that is Not Embarrassing.

Ella Ballentine is just Superb showing a Depth of Character Beyond Her Years and the Camera Loves Her. So will You as this Nail-Biter unfolds. The Writer-Director shows some Movie Making Chops and makes this Confined Setting Interesting.

A Movie that Delivers the most of what it has to offer. Brought Home by the Captivating Performances of the Three Leads with a Villain Worth Hating. It's Touching in Spots and Brutally Engaging in others.

Overall, Underrated and the Film goes Beyond its Constraints and Everyone involved can be Proud of the Results. Not a Shoot-em-Up by any stretch. It relies on Character and Dialog most of time, but is not without some of the Visceral needed to make this work, and it Works Just Fine.