RepoJack’s review published on Letterboxd:
Jeremy Saulnier makes his most mainstream movie to date, and part of me wonders if that was because of Netflix meddling. Saulnier had wanted to make a modern spin on First Blood, and that's how this opens. I'm surprised this was rated TV-MA. His previous three movies had moments of intense brutality and violence. This has our protagonists shooting people with bean bags. 30 minutes in, it starts feeling like a Jack Reacher episode.
In that opening scene, he clearly must have binged those YouTube videos of police bodycam incidents where a racist or power-mad cop meets his intellectual match.
And Instead of sporting a combat knife (with a needle & thread in the handle), this John Rambo has ... paperwork! It may sound like I'm dissing the premise, but I'm really not. I kind of dug the modern Rambo. If he escaped the police station, jumped on a motorcycle, and fled into the wilderness, it would be a complete ripoff. Instead, our beleaguered vet uses his mind and finely honed debate skills to outsmart the redneck cops in the middle of nowhere USA. You know, those remote towns where you're guaranteed to get a ticket for some random thing to fill their coffers and pay for margarita machines (looking at you, Nevada).
Aaron Pierre is excellent as a less aggro Jack Reacher. He's a handsome guy with a chiseled jaw, sharp cheekbones, and irises so light they're almost tan, giving him an ethereal look.
I love Don Johnson as a villain. His steely looks and unctuous drawl charm me every single time.
Saulnier is going to have to tighten up his storylines. The plots in this and Hold the Dark felt muddled to me. But I had fun. Definitely one of the better Netflix actioners.
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