One Way

Lets start off by stating the obvious -- clearly Andrew Baird has found a way to avoid the sales agents pretending to be film makers curse and has created ACTUAL films. Now they are flawed "Zone414" and now "One Way" but at least they are competent films! MGK was great in The Dirt and Verve with Franco so im not sure why everyone is shocked that he can act -- I'm not sure what to make of reviewers anymore there people who tell you that you cant rate a film higher than a 3 because thats what they KNOW and then there are those rating it a 10 because people gave it a "1" so I believe in general if a film is technically sound -- has a decent story -- is acted well then we should start with a 5 -- the rest is how it made you feel -- was it original and was it memorable...on those factors I grade 1 for memorable -- The images of the bus and some of the characters sticks with you once the film is done and thats the sign of a good film. So not getting into the spoilers of this movie but its a good watch --

I actually enjoyed the movie despite its many flaws.

Visually the film is very bleak with grey being the predominant colour of presentation. It's use does work in some parts but it does drive the films mood down too far over a sustained period.

The film's acting is pretty poor with two notable exceptions, Kevin Bacon and MGK. They are both exceptional. The film would have been significantly better if they had shared more screen time.

Where the film really struggles is its pacing. It spends most of our time in one location and so it does get boring, making a 90 minute movie feel much longer :)

To be honest, this somewhat exceeded my expectations. I thought this was going to be a total stinker, (it had the Bruce Willis vibe to the description and box cover). Knowing that Bacon was just going to be a side character for small scenes, perhaps my bar was set so low going into it that it actually didn't seem too bad. The all-around solid acting made up for many shortcomings on the technical side. Acting and actor restraint good if not great. Script pretty decent, but the technical side could have been better. By that I mean the runtime was a bit long per the total content and plot devices. In other words, it was a reeeeally long bus ride and a bit too much cell phone talking. "Action" on electronic devices (computers, tablets, phones, etc) is boring, but this didn't cross that line completely. Also, the camerawork seemed amateurish. Focal games, blurring, cascading, and finally the dreaded shaky/bouncing cam that rarely locks onto a still frame so you can focus on it. In summary, I think it was as good as it could have been for what was written, with the technical and editing work holding it back.

The good: they tried to make something exciting and thrilling, so I give them credits for trying, but in the end they utterly failed at making a thrilling crime story.

The bad: the story. The story is just not credible and kinda tedious, however much they have tried to make it look thrilling, the story is an empty shell.

How long can I stay interested in a character travelling on a bus? ONLY if the leading actor had been a terrific actor, this movie could have had some merit, but now it has none.

Kevin Bacon on the other hand IS a great actor and he does perform well (as usual) but he cant save this movie.

The story: a criminal has fled on a bus and now other criminals are chasing him. Lots of talk talk talk, little to none thrilling action.

This is a waste of star power. Kevin Bacon and Travis Kimmel can't pull off a stunt that would make the film a little likeable.

The storyline has all the makings of compelling drama centering on the relationship between estranged son and his father, and between an estranged husband and his wife and daughter. It simply lacks the gravitas to make it work. After a while, it becomes rather formulaic.

The idea of setting it on a moving bus has been done before. Remember 1994's Speed starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves? That is an example of a thriller that keeps the viewer's rapt attention all the way. With that as the standard, this film really falls short of expectations; the opportunity for a good film is squandered.