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| Blake Lively stars in The Rhythm Section |
The
Rotten Tomatoes Plot: Blake 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
