Standoff

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.

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.

"Well, well, well. That man knows his guns. So do I."

As I said in my review about the film "Weaponized" : "I have a weak spot for low-budget, straight to DVD, B-movies" and occasionally I discover "a piddling, unknown and unloved movie, which surpasses some blockbusters in terms of content and design". "Standoff" is such a movie. An unpretentious film with a straight forward script. The makers don't waste too much time and introduce practically immediately a deadly, accurate assassin (Laurence Fishburne), who turns a modest funeral into a bloody massacre without batting an eye. His appearance reminded me a little of "The Terminator". But this time with a jet-black balaclava.

The only thing this professional, routinized killer didn't take into account, is Bird (Ella Ballentine). A skinny, shy girl with a camera around her neck serving as protection against and a window at the unjust world, who unwittingly takes a snapshot of the face of the killer. What follows is a chase because the murderer wants to clean up this last witness at all cost. An isolated farmhouse owned by Carter (Thomas Jane), an ex-soldier full of self-pity and remorse trying to forget his grief using booze, is the endpoint. Remorse because of an unfortunate accident that happened to his son. As a result his wife also left him. Bird showing up there might probably be interpreted by Carter as an opportunity to show a sense of responsibility for once.

And before you know it, those two ex-military are in the grip of a standoff. Sade, the assassin with enough firepower, installs himself on the ground floor, while Carter and Bird entrench themselves upstairs, only armed with a "20-gauge shotgun" and only one shell. And so the psychological warfare between the two rivals can start with Bird at stake. There's no lengthy intro or a detailed explanation. Even the multiple assassination at the beginning isn't explained or elucidated. This is in fact of secondary importance. The story develops rapidly at the beginning. Within 10 minutes you are fully aware what situation both men are in. There's the possibility that from there on it could become boring, monotonous and slow. However, the opposite is true.

Sade tries in a verbal manner (and also in other ways) to persuade Carter to turn in Bird, while Carter guards the staircase. The subsequent dialogs between these two are on the one hand provocative and offensive. But on the other hand they are also psychologically thought through. Fishburne is clearly in his element as the unscrupulous villain. It was a pleasure to see him again in a leading role (it's at least more impressive than his roles in "The Signal" and "The Colony"). Jane surprised me and this shows that it wasn't his fault that his acting in "Vice" was worthless, but indeed, that film was quite appalling. Not to say utter crap. Here Jane plays a perfectly balanced role as a tormented heap of misery, full of despair and weariness of life, who transforms into a responsible savior. And finally an honorable mention for Ella Ballentine who did great.

Even though this "home invasion" film wasn't very original and the storyline was quite simple, it still managed to captivate me. And even though the end was kind of predictable, I still wondered how it would eventually end up anyway. An additional advantage was the short playing time which in turn led to a proper pace. All in all, a fascinating film. Yet another proof that films that take place exclusively in one particular location, can also be entertaining. At least I didn't need to fight against sleep, as those two guys.

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"The little lady has seen my face, now she's got to pay the price. Like everybody else. That's how it works." Sade (Fishburne) is an assassin with one rule, leave no witnesses. After taking care of who he was supposed to he sees a little girl. Not wanting to break his rule he follows her to the home of Carter (Jane). The two engage in a standoff over a little girl with neither willing to budge at all. It becomes a battle of wills with the little girl's life at stake. This is a movie that only works because of one thing. The acting. This easily could have become super cheesy, boring or unwatchable if the casting wasn't right. Luckily for the film, and for us, they got it right. Fishburne does a great job of playing a hard edge assassin without becoming too over the top or hokey. Jane does a great job of playing a veteran on the edge of losing everything and seeing this girl as his salvation. They turn the movie from a great half hour TV show idea into a full length movie that works. It does seem to drag and get repetitive at times, but overall this is a good movie that is worth your time because of the acting. I give this a B.

'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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