‘Armor’ Review – Sylvester Stallone Goes Villainous in This Halfhearted Crime Thriller

Lionsgate’s recent filmography has been pretty fascinating to say the least, especially when it comes to action movies. Without them, we would not have had our beloved golden geese. john wick This series is one of the best, if not the best, action series in modern filmmaking. On the other side of the continent’s coin, there are many films that are quickly forgotten, including so-called action films that ironically lack punch and struggling video game adaptations. borderlands and their ill-fated remake Crow.

Unfortunately, Lionsgate’s latest action movie falls into the latter category. armor Driving at a speed significantly below the expected speed limit for the genre. nevertheless armor One of the most iconic and well-known names in the genre is participating. sylvester stalloneand is far from a career slump. tulsa king. Not only do Stallone’s talents as an action star feel wasted here.but armor It also falls into a similar trap that many low-budget action films typically fall into.

What is “Armor”?

armor I mainly follow James (jason patric) – A man suffering from alcoholism who works his day job as an armored truck driver. It’s a thankless job, but at least James’ partner is his son Casey (Josh Wiggins), however, the two had not been very close since a tragic accident that changed their family forever several years ago. When a seemingly simple delivery job turns out to be anything but, James and Casey must put aside their family turmoil. The father and son duo soon find themselves attacked and cornered on a bridge by a gang of robbers led by a calculating mastermind called Luke (Stallone). If we want to get out of this alive, we need to use every means at our disposal.

It’s a heist movie centered around an armored truck, so armor Conceptually similar to the 2009 one armorIt’s not just because the names are almost the same. However, where armor At least it has an interesting premise, with the armored truck driver himself carrying out the heist. armor is underway with a pretty realistic thriller. The father-son angle adds a bit of flavor, and Jason Patric and Josh Wiggins have a convincing friendship, but the story they take part in is frustratingly standard, with no villains or blackmail. Useless. Facing it is just as interesting as watching traffic.

Sylvester Stallone can’t do anything in ‘Armor’

armor‘s biggest strength is its main character, James, thanks in large part to Jason Patric’s solid performance. James is the only character given any meaningful development in the film.Even if his alcoholic tendencies are very mundane and sometimes even downright goofy (like how he stores his secret stash of booze in the fridge). Despite his character’s flaws, Patrick gives a more than passing performance as a scared father who will do anything to protect his family.

The same can’t be said about Sylvester Stallone’s Luke. Luke is pretty much standard as an antagonist. On the other hand, the idea of ​​giving Stallone a true villain (though Luke has more conscience than his co-conspirators) would be a nice change of pace for the action star. Sadly, Luke is far from a compelling antagonistThat’s because we learn nothing about his motives beyond wanting money. When a celebrity like Sylvester Stallone plays a character, you know something is wrong, but it still feels like literally any other actor could play him. You also know something is wrong when Stallone somehow plays a much more interesting antagonist. Spy Kids 3: Game Over.

the rest armor‘s small supporting cast ranges from so-so to subpar. Josh Wiggins is perfectly acceptable as James’ son Casey, adding some much-needed levity to the film. armorin his most selfish tone. As for the other members of Luke’s crew, they’re mostly disposable and insignificant villains, only there to serve as cannon fodder for the film’s frankly underwhelming action scenes. .

‘Armor’ mainly suffers from lack of action and ridiculous plot holes

Despite being advertised as an action thriller, pace of armor It’s just as slow and clunky as the ride it’s named after. The film is surprisingly devoid of any action, especially in the incredibly boring first act, which spends far too much time following James and Casey during an average working day. That time could have been spent fleshing out Luke as an antagonist and digging deeper into the motivations behind his greedy endeavours, but instead, what we get is James and All Casey has to do is openly discuss their shared tragic past.

Speaking of its tragic past,Here’s the whole flashback sequence armor it could be even more ridiculousthan the already difficult premise to swallow of an armored truck crash on a public road. Granted, the road is closed for construction, but I can imagine that if the armored vehicle had been missing for hours, red flags would have been raised. The “big reveal” of the cause of Jason and Casey’s estrangement is somehow both incredibly conventional and unexpectedly goofy at the same time. What happens in this sequence is clearly tragic for the characters, but the argument that what happened is one of their fault is a bit far-fetched.

premise of armor Already, it doesn’t give the movie too much gas to work on. Jason Patric’s solid performance gives the movie a bit of leeway, but the action is weak and Sylvester Stallone’s talent as an actor and action star is completely wasted, which makes it seem like a lot to count. The movie is bogged down by problems. Where Lionsgate’s other ill-fated actions challenge things like borderlands and Crow It may be remembered as an example of what not to do in an action movie. armor You may not remember it at all.

Stallone isn’t law in this new action movie, but it’s an absolute crime that he doesn’t fit in as well in a generic movie like Armor.

Strong Points

• Jason Patric gives a captivating lead performance.

Cons

• Sylvester Stallone feels completely unnecessary in the movie.
• The small action in this movie is relatively weak.
• The father-son trauma angle is undermined by a goofy backstory.

armor It will debut in theaters, digitally and on demand on November 22nd.

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