Friday, January 31, 2020

The Rhythm Section Movie Review

Blake Lively stars in The Rhythm Section

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Rotten Tomatoes PlotBlake Lively stars as Stephanie Patrick, an ordinary woman on a path of self-destruction after her family is tragically killed in a plane crash. When Stephanie discovers that the crash was not an accident, she enters a dark, complex world to seek revenge on those responsible and find her own redemption. Directed by Reed Morano.


Starring: Blake Lively, Jude Law, and Sterling K. Brown

What's Good: It's under two hours.

What's Not: Lively was terrific in 2016's The Shallows, so I was anxious to see her take on an Atomic Blonde/La Femme Nikita-esque assassin. Unfortunately for all concerned, it stinks. To be fair, it's not entirely her fault. Monaco saddles Lively with bad looks and a rash of family flashbacks, that ring false (not to mention redundant.) Then it's on to a Rocky-like training session in the middle of nowhere (with a lethargic Jude Law) before she's let loose on a world of third-rate terrorists in exotic locales. The action is anemic (and hard to see) and the music, as imperfect a match as I've ever heard (Elvis Presley's "It's Now or Never?" Are you serious?) Lively's transformation from an Oxford student (top of her class, naturally) to a deadly assassin is nonsensical and unconvincing. Think I'm being harsh? Just wait until her first kill... of a random guy attached to an oxygen tank. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Budget: $50 million

Runtime: 109 minutes (Still too long.)

Target Audience: No clue. Masochists?

Bottom Line: Lively's career takes a major hit, while Morano (hopefully) fades back to obscurity. Not exactly what Paramount Pictures had in mind, I'm sure; but you can't serve dog food to moviegoers and tell them it's Filet Mignon. They won't buy it... even in January.

Grade: F