Security

You have a decent cast in this movie and a decent plot to boot. Is it a B movie? Yes. Is it bad? No sir. The reason for the title of this review is Banderas really carried this movie. He took the script, strapped it to his waist and dragged it through a filmmaking minefield. There was potential galore for this thing to be bad, but they dodged every bullet. In large part thanks to Banderas. Kingsley delivered his typical ominous badguy-ness and there were some good performances by the others. But Banderas really had the weight of the whole production on his shoulders as his allies left a lot to be desired. He did such a good job of being relatable, emotional but strong, really he gave us a rich, deep character for us to root for.

The writing was actually decent and one thing that really stood out to me about this movie is the pacing. It's really good at giving us breaks when we need it and ramping up the action right when you feel like they should. The scoring was alright, but I'm really getting bored with the typical boomy action movie trumpets and drums. And the tension between the good guys and bad guys creates an engaging dynamic.

There isn't a ton of substance here, admittedly. It's a fairly straight forward action movie. If you're looking for cinema genius, exceptional cinematography, jaw dropping writing, and a thrilling, moving adventure ... I'm sorry to say you will have to look elsewhere. BUT if you want to sit back with a few beers or a bowl and enjoy a good old fashioned (I would go as far to say above average) action movie? You could do a lot worse than Security.

No F bombs, drug scenes, or blaring rap music and a pretty good story. There are more casualties on both sides which probably killed the potential BO. But besides very little plausibility, it was exciting throughout, Antonio Banderas has too much of an accent and was a bit hard to understand, so this killed his action hero future. The acting was good and Ben Kingsley did his usual bad guy role with aplomb. My major problem was the entire movie is filmed fairly dark. It is all at night and the mall scenes are mostly without full lighting. Kind of gets claustrophobic after awhile.

This movie was enjoyable - specifically the story-line, but it lost its major appeal and potential with a poor screenplay with many plot holes, sub-par directing, and the choice of some of its actors.

The only decent actors in this film were Ben Kingsley playing the odd-ball villain Charlie, of which he's done before so I'm used to him, and the little girl Jamie played by Katherine de la Rocha.

Liam McIntyre as Vance (mostly in the 1st half of the film) and Chad Lindberg as Mason where just the wrong actors for their roles, or the wrong roles for those actors. Then there was that ninja mercenary who was just really unnecessary.

Now to be clear, I am a big fan of Antonio Banderas (Eduardo "Eddie" Deacon), but this was not the role for him. Playing the Mall Cop meets Jason Bourne was very unconvincing, especially during the fight scenes. Additionally, putting him in roles that he has to whisper is a mistake, because I can barely understand his dialog with his accent.

The screenplay and directing where very confused in what they were trying to accomplish. Had this movie been serious throughout, with convincing and appropriate actors/roles, this would have been a hit. But unfortunately, having Chad Lindberg play the big baby-nerd role, and Liam McIntyre with those dumb sideburns and annoying dialog at the beginning, I couldn't take this film seriously, especially after seeing that ninja mercenary with the dual samurai swords that he never even used. Had their roles been as serious or convincing as the sniper, or Gabriella Wright (Ruby), it would have kept me in suspense and enjoyment from start to finish.

Overall, the story is what kept me interested the most, and for that, it's a 7/10 from me.

22 October 2017. This Die Hard (1988) wannabe strays into dangerous territory in how seriously dramatic it descends. It's tone becomes darker as contemporary action movies seem to have become in general nowadays. The movie starts with a hard-hitting road battle the likes of Clear and Present Danger (1994). However whether the entertainment value goes up with this type of action thriller genre, does it reach a delicate balance between intense suspense along with heroic exhilaration or result in more disappointment, frustration in the dramatic outcomes that occur as the storyline progresses? Security almost plays out, even if it might reflect more of a rational outcome, more like a typical horror movie, with the human assassins playing the role of monsters. Think From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). Instead of using the Die Hard story formula, Security tries too hard to expand on the drama and torturous action experience, including probably the inclusion of unrealistically too many bad guys. Psychologically, the audience attachment and connection to the characters to the movie becomes fewer and fewer and a sense of frustration and disappointment increase. This movie is pretty much run of the mill action thriller that proceeds towards a rather predictable and over rather the top dramatic climax. What makes this movie a bit different is the precarious performance of the Mall boss who is both quite irritating, irascible yet somehow engaging with a good heart as well as a rather tender last few scenes. So instead of a six, this movie might be grudgingly a seven. [12/14/2018: After a second viewing, Security holds up much better and the consequential deaths don't appear to be that overly simplistic or unrealistic as first thought. The set up and the subsequent action scenes play out well. The pacing is good and the defensive actions are nicely thought up and carried through. A "solid" seven out of ten stars.] Like Die Hard, this movie apparently has repeated entertainment viewing value. The martial and lethal shooting scenes are reasonably well done, close but never actually going over the top. Even Ben Kingsley's poignant life story and later offer is quite tempting in some ways. The last few scenes of the movie are also unusually extended for most movies of this genre but in a nice, soft concluding way. Therefore, this movie is a continuing strong seven out of ten. [2/1/2019]. 7/10.

SECURITY is low on originality, medium on clashing fight scenes with guns and bombs and fire and a bit maudlin in the end when the father/daughter concept finally adds some human interest. Otherwise this 'made for action lovers' film, written by Tony Mosher and John Sullivan and directed by Alain Desrochers is a sidebar t the careers of tow fine actors – Antonio Banderas (in fine shape physically) and Ben Kingsley.

An ex-special services veteran (Antonio Banderas), down on his luck and desperate for work, takes a job as a security guard at a run-down mall in a rough area of town. He is introduced to the motley crew of security guards (Liam McIntyre, Gabriella Wright, Chad Lindberg, Jiro Wang). On his first night on the job, he opens the doors up to a distraught and desperate young girl Jamie (Katherine de la Rocha) who has escaped and fled from a hijacking of the Police motorcade that was transporting her to testify as a trial witness in a briefcase. Hot on her heels is psychopathic hijacker (Ben Kingsley), alongside his resourceful henchmen, who will stop at nothing to extract and eliminate their witness.

That is the bare bones of a story that is basically one of shooting, fire, explosions, murder, and all the other derring-do that builds a story based on the chased and the chaser. It gets repetitive but Banderas and Kingsley (and Liam McIntyre) are strong enough to hold or interest.