Always fun when experts like Soderberg divert from their own art house projects, and venture into mainstream Hollywood territory; because the result is always a great little exercise in the genre. He gave thrillers a shot in the Ocean's 11-12-13 trilogy, and now he's on to the action genre, making MMA athlete Gina Carano the heroine of an old-fashioned spy thriller, surrounded by well-established movie stars. I don't think there's much of a future for Carano, but Soderberg's own beautifully choreographed action sequences and mastery of soundtrack (especially during an incredible hostage-rescue sequence), make this movie a pure delight.
Mo says:
I read a review somewhere that because of his other work, Soderberg gets a free pass for this average movie, labeled as an "experiment" -- a nicer way of saying the experiment failed.
ReplyDeleteI guess that rule goes for any filmmaker with a few masterpieces in their resume. The first name that comes to mind is Coppola, who (with the exception of "Dracula") been making "meh" for more than 30 years ever since the first two "Godfather"s and "Apocalypse Now", but is still allowed to "experiment" and not get trashed by critics. Just imagine what they would've done to any other filmmaker who made a movie like "Jack". Still, I love how Soderbergh always has the audacity to try something new. At least I'm always interested to see what he has to say whenever he makes another movie.
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