Justice seeks out equity and morality but instead is guilty of being criminally boring. Nicolas Cage. My man. What happened? You had such a good career, and now you'll do anything for a pay cheque. Including this dribbling mess of a thriller. A hint of 'Death Wish', a splash of 'The Game' and a sprinkling of every other generic typical "thriller". Quite possibly the longest 105 minutes of my life, the film just didn't want to end. After his wife was raped, a school teacher is approached by a mysterious organisation who can dispose of the rapist. He agrees, in exchange for a favour that will be determined in later months.
When the most exciting scene in the film is at a vending machine, to which the teacher does not just order one chocolate bar but two (*gasp* *shock* *faints*), whilst a security guard looks on as if buying two confectionery snacks at one time is illegal, well something is not quite right. Despite the premise actually retaining some legitimate propositions for an engaging thriller, particularly in the first thirty minutes, it all comes spiralling out of control with its illogical ridiculousness. This ominous organisation, which comprises of a group "seeking justice", becomes this convoluted web of stupidity when seemingly everyone gets involved and randomly exclaims "the hungry rabbit jumps". Strangers, detectives, reporters and even colleagues. Was this a Facebook group or something? Click here to join now?
Donaldson directed the infrequent action sequences with as much subtlety as a sumo wrestler tip-toeing. Every eternally zooming camera movement was obnoxiously direct. No slow panning to create tension. Just bam, here's the reveal, let's move on. Cage phoned-in his performance to the maximum, and God bless him it was terrible. Pearce was menacing but not enough screen time. And Jones was flatter than a rabbit getting pummelled by a lorry. Don't get me started on the pacing, it was horrendous. Never mind about the rabbit jumping, because it'll be me off a bridge if I have to watch this again. Waste of a perfectly decent premise.
