Acts of Vengeance

Not a bad vigilante movie in which Antonio Banderas plays a kind of Nicholas Cage character. Nothing new under the sun, as we say in France. I find here some EQUALIZER elements: Russian mob, teen hooker, mystical avenger reading books, aware of sounds and eye glancing. And of course Chuck Bronson's ghost is nearly everywhere in this film. I expected nor worse or better. Just an adequate time waster.

If you are a fan of Antonio Banderas you may feel or watch this under a different ... point of view. You may feel that this is way better than what I have attributed it and what score I gave it. I do like Mr. Banderas a lot, but I also think this is quite predictable. Just from the cast alone you can tell and be aware of certain things.

That aside, the action and stunts are very well shot. So if that is what you are looking for ... and not the suspense itself (the twist is quite the stretch to be honest), you don't have to worry about anything at all.

It seems Antonio Banderas is making a lot of movies of the same genre lately. This is not to say that's bad. I Think he does quite a good job as an "average man" tough guy. This film is no different, however, there are some exceptions.

I gave this film a generous 7/10. Mostly because I am liking Banderas more and more of late and the plot of this film, although flimsy at times, is pretty good and fast paced.

As in 90% of my reviews, I try to avoid spoilers at all costs as to not ruin it for future viewers. I will stick to that rule and simply talk about what I did and did not like about this film....first, this is a plot we have seen before but was done with some different twists and a solid unforeseeable outcome. Banderas' character is a man on a mission after the murder of his wife and daughter. He is a defense attorney with no fighting or "revenge" skills but learns them quickly as the police seem uninterested in finding the person/persons responsible. This is where He takes matters into his own hands.

The film has some excellent choreographed fight scenes and the pace of the film is without boredom. However, the way our protagonist goes about learning how to become a "tough guy" is quite far out and unbelievable.

Throughout the film, there are quotes regarding "revenge" from Marcus Aurelius' meditations, in six parts. Each act is then played out after the quote is read on screen.

In summation: a worthwhile film with some good action scenes and a solid but familiar story line. Much of the fight scenes from Bandwras' perspective is unrealistic but entertaining. If you are a fan of the action/ thriller and revenge sub genre, you won't be disappointed. If your looking for something new and original, this film won't make the cut.

It was not 90 minutes of boredom or a waste of time....

I've wanted to see the movie since I met Kart Urban in my gym last year, so maybe I am little biased. The premise of the movie is quite good but the story delivery is rather poor - it is like all things are "designed" to happen and not very convincingly. I mean, the animated TV series I watched as a kid (Michel Vaillant for instance) made a whole lot more sense. Acting is alright - Banderas and Urban do the job as much as the script allows them to, the rest is typical B-movie stuff. The main asset of the movie are the fighting sequence which while cheesy are very well choreographed and Banderas is surprisingly good in all of them. All in all, a descent premise and good fight sequences versus poor script and clichéd storyline make it for a good 6 out of 10. It is worth your time as long as you don't take it seriously and consider its low-budget nature.

Antonio Bandeiras gets a soft spot in our hearts for all he has done in Cinema. He is like Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Lundgren, one of those actors paid to act much and talk little; when they talk, we recognize as fast as a blink of an eye who the actor is, mainly because they have strong accents. You might find it funny that Antonio narrates most of this movie, which kinda pisses me off: narration, most of the times, is an excuse to tell us rather than show us.

In Acts of Vengeance, Frank Valera works too much, which ends up getting their daughter and wife killed. He descends into almost madness but finds resolution and redemption in a very peculiar book.

This movie is an average revenge story. Nothing too fancy, nothing too smart. In the end, you are just watching events unfold, wondering who is the bad guy.

I found the motive to be obvious. I suggested once I got the first events of the movie and I was spot on. Nonetheless, OK movie to watch.

If you want bland entertainment, go for it.