Monday, August 3, 2015

The Reunion (2011) PG-13

John Cena (The Marine), Ethan Embry(Late Phases), Boyd Holbrook(Gone Girl)

Three half-brothers are brought together by their father's will which stipulates that they have to work together to receive their inheritance.  Their idea for a family business?  Tracking down a kidnapped Wall Street tycoon for the reward money.



As part of a triple feature I put together for myself of movies with wrestlers in significant roles, I had two movies chosen (They Live and Predator) but was having difficulty coming up with a third, as I'm not really a wrestling fan and had no idea what else was out there.  I was flipping through Netflix when I came across this little film and thought "What the heck?"  It turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

While not as cheesy as They Live, it wasn't quite up to the standards of the likes of Predator either.  If hard-pressed, I'd say it falls somewhere in the middle of that quality spectrum.  A little sleuthing, a little dealing with Mexico's sleazy underworld, and action sequences that are well-done and well placed.

The problem with the movie is the pacing.  The bonding of the newly-introduced brothers is necessary for the plot, but it makes for long stretches of childhood stories, bickering, and weirdness that causes the movie to lag frequently.  Not for very long, but it happens often... like a really bad stop-and-start traffic jam during rush hour, this movie is all stop and go.

Here's the other thing... it was just bland enough that it didn't earn a single count from me anywhere.  I didn't roll my eyes at the stereotypical "cop does bad thing for the right reasons and gets suspended" beginning, but I also didn't laugh at anything.  Not even at the intentional jokes.  The closest I got was laughing at the bloopers during the end credits.

And if you're a stickler for grammar, spelling and punctuation, the misuse of homonyms in the subtitles will drive you absolutely bonkers.

As knitting-time fodder, it's an okay choice.  The frequent slow spots will give you plenty of time to work on your stitches, while the action sequences and the rest will keep your brain occupied during an easy project.  It's not Shakespeare, but the $5 Amazon price point makes it a bargain if you're a collector.



No comments:

Post a Comment