Survivor

I was really looking forward to this film, Director James McTeigue had made me an instant fan with "V for Vendetta".

Pierce Brosnan did an admirable job with the material that he was given, evoking the same ice cold villain persona that he had perfected in such films as "The Fourth Protocol" and "Don't Talk to Strangers".

Milla Jovovich is a decent actress but much of her role involves reacting to situations with close ups of shock/surprise. It was not a good fit.

Supporting actors including Robert Forster and Angela Basset round out the impressive cast but they are largely wasted.

I see 2 main issues with this film:

1) The storyline is very clichéd, especially the predictable 3rd act and much of the dialogue is very stilted. 2) The CGI in many parts is sub par and takes you out of your suspension of disbelief.

Having said all this, I still found it to be a competent thriller worth watching with these caveats.

It is certainly not as bad as the ratings and majority of the reviews suggest. Yes, there are lots of plot holes to find, but I believe a movie should be judged by its entertainment quotient rather than its bullet-proof plot. This one keeps you interested. Brosnan, I felt, was pretty sharp in his role as the assassin and Mila does what she does best, run for cover and retaliate. As I always keep stating, a movie is half as good as its climax, this one though left much to be desired on that front, pretty low key to say the least. I go with a 6/10 for this one.

This thriller is centred on Kate Abbott, a member of the Diplomatic Security Service, who has recently been posted to the US Embassy in London. Here it is her job to oversee visa applications for those wishing to visit the United States. One day she decides that a doctor hoping to attend a conference in New York warrants further attention... she doesn't know it at the time but he is a vital part of a terrorist plot. Others involved, notably an assassin known as 'The Watchmaker' decide to eliminate her. The bomb used in the murder attempt kills many of her colleagues but she survives. Unfortunately for her she is soon the chief suspect. Kate must now avoid the authorities and the killers if she is to get to the bottom of the plot and prevent the terrorist attack. She will have very few allies.

I thought this was a pretty solid thriller. The central idea of a protagonist trying to stop a crime while on the run from the villains and the authorities is hardly new but it is effective. Little time is wasted before the main action starts and once it does things remain tense till the finale. The action is nicely varied with chases, shooting, fights and explosions. Milla Jovovich is great as Kate and Pierce Brosnan is suitably menacing as The Watchmaker, without tipping into pantomime villain territory. The rest of the cast, which includes many familiar faces, is pretty good too. The film makes good use of London locations without finding a need to show the usual tourist sights. Overall I thought this was a good little thriller; it may not be a must see but it is well worth watching if you enjoy the genre.

Granted this movie may not be anything special and it does not deserve a great rate, but there are a lot of hater answers here which are anything but fair.

The movie is more than watchable. It's an action movie, with not that many twists, (and very few of them unexpected, if any) but has a reasonably good plot, great acting, ok special effects,...

Those rating this movie below 5 don't really know what a bad movie is. This is not. Many of the flaws some reviewers point out are actually no flaws at all.

Similar to another recent action film "Everly", Survivor gets by thanks to an utterly convincing, magnetic and devoted performance from lead star Milla Jovovich, I'm a big fan of hers and it's great to see her take on an action role. That being said, there isn't an awful lot of action or thrills. The first explosion in the restaurant is actually well shot, intense and very dramatic. Jovovich' character Kate runs around London fleeing a hit-man played by a charismatic Pierce Brosnan. There are a few well staged yet short-lived shootouts, but nothing to get your heart racing.

The real issue with Survivor is the hammy and sometimes unusual dialogue, as well as a rather bland story that focuses on betrayal and the ripples of 9/11. I was in it for performances and the impressive all-star cast who do what they can. 5 stars go towards Milla Jovovich, the other star goes towards the film being able to hold my attention despite it being a rather generic action vehicle, so I award a 6/10 rating.