Dead Man Down
Starring: Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Terrance Howard
Directed By: Niels Arden Oplev
Reviewed by Danielle Muir
[rating: 3/5]
Dead Man Down is nothing exceptionally intriguing. There’s a hint of euro flavour which gives tone a dark little tinge, but essentially this is a revenge story with two mildly interesting protagonists and a nice big gun battle to fulfil action sequence criteria.
Colin Farrell’s Victor plays it slightly tortured and troubled – a big wigs henchman with an agenda. He lives across the road from the recently disfigured Beatrice (Rapace), who unbeknownst to him films a murder he commits and uses it as blackmail in return for her silence. Secretly Victor is plotting revenge of his own.
Dead Man Down has all the necessary elements for a crime/drama, but nothing to elevate it above relatively entertaining. The two meet, they uncover secrets about themselves, they track down Beatrice’s target (the man who disfigured her through drunk driving), Victor continues to orchestrate his revenge on Terrence Howard’s Alphonse whilst torturing and killing various other henchmen to send a message.
I would have thought that Niels Arden Oplev, director of the highly successful original Girl With the Dragon Tattoo franchise would have come out of the gate with a bit more oomph. Whilst he seems to have a penchant for putting Rapace in off-kilter roles (which she pulls off with style), the rest of the cast seem a bit flat. There’s that tinge of darkness in every element that Dragon Tattoo beholds, but nothing more that sets it apart from the rest.
Rapace and Farrell do make an unlikely duo and there is chemistry (mainly built through neighbourly leftover donations that warm the heart). The two bond over their desire for revenge, but there’s an added layer of depth as Farrell illustrates that Beatrice doesn’t really know the impact of what he’s asking him to do. However, some of the bullying Beatrice endures at the hands of local neighbourhood children seems a bit much – scratching ‘monster’ into her door, pelting her with rocks, are kids really that cruel? It seems like a bit of a clichéd sympathy puller.
In short, there’s a bit of action, Farrell and Rapace play jaded characters bonding over their bloodlust, and it’s not a bad way to spend two hours – but from Oplev I expected something more memorable.
