Kill Chain

A simple plot is buoyed along by good pacing and decent action. Action peaks at the right time, and the acting is solid for the most part, with uneven performances in spots. Its simplicity and well-portioned atmosphere and action make this a fairly enjoyable watch and above average.

So Nicholas Cage won an Oscar and pretty soon after his career plummeted. His films in the last few years are quite terrible and I'm actually a fan of his. I was pleasantly surprised by Kill Chain. The story, acting, direction and production value are all worthy of an Oscar winner. So great work Nick! I hope this is the start of a turn around and back into higher quality films.

You can say a lot of things about Nicolas Cage and his recent output of movies, which put Steven Seagal to shame - and not in a good way. What you can't say is that he's phoning them in. Well not entirely and not convincing either most of the time. Still, like Seagal who'd say no to money offeered to shoot in beaufitul cities/countries, with some good looking (female) cast members? Maybe only the geographical aspect of it, convinces you, maybe just the money, maybe you like the company of women. Nothing wrong with either of those things in particular (consent would be one in the latter of course).

A few things wrong with the characters he portrays though. Then again, this has enough nudity and violence to keep you busy and not minding whatever this is about ... or not. Cage can play and is good when in movies that have a certain quality ... this is direct to video fodder. Nothing less and nothing more either

(2019) Kill Chain ACTION THRILLER

Written and directed by Ken Sanzel has Araña (Nicolas Cage), an owner/ manager of run down hotel building with an open bar, when Renata (Anabelle Acosta) stepped in. Some violent shootings happened in which she looses her spouse as viewers learned she was given orders to stop by at that specific hotel. And it was then two pre-paid hitman of (Alimi Ballard) and (Pedro Calvo) coming along with them is a dangerous woman played by Angie Cepeda as we learn more about Araña's violent history and his involvement toward the characters. This is an unique set up in which viewers are oblivious of the Nicolas Cage character himself.

'Kill Chain' is going to lose some audience members in the first 15 minutes. It gets off to a very sloppy start. After the opening scene, a bizarre opening credits and then another awkward scene I thought I was in for a very long 90 minutes. But then the film found its rhythm and things began to click. Ryan Kwanten entered the film, in possible the best segment of the movie, and suddenly the movie wasn't seeming so bad. It's far from a masterpiece but it is a film that gets better and better as it goes along.

This movie takes itself very seriously. There isn't a single occasion in the entire movie I can remember where they try to make you laugh. Nicolas Cage, who is becoming synonymous with ultra violent revenge flicks it seems, is still a very watchable actor. He slips on the occasional line, but for the most part he's a stand-out in any scene he's in and he's not phoning it in.

The film turned out to be smarter than I expected it to be. Everything wraps itself together in quite a clever and creative way. If you don't need your films to be beautifully shot or have impeccable dialogue, and you're willing to get down and gritty in the seedy underbelly of a film, then this could just be the one for you. It won't be for everyone, but it is certainly watchable enough for a pass mark.