The film takes a good time to develop its protagonist and his motivations, something better than coming up with some random guy who happens to be an ex-CIA badass killer. However, when the action finally happens, it doesn't match the expectations.
I don't even know what to say about Joel Kinnaman, his acting always feels campy, not sure if relying solely on facial expressions was a good choice. The main antagonist(s) are poorly written, there is no contrast between them and the hero to make the history more engaging.
The muteness of the protagonist is not used cleverly, and the absence of dialogues from pretty much anyone in the film makes things more silly.
IMHO, Morten Tyldum's best work so far.
Poor character development, poor premise, poor atmosphere.
I'm getting a bit tired of these badass john wick like kind of movies, so even though this one has some good production quality, the formula feels overused. Also, while I truly enjoy Bob Odenkirk, watching him trying to portray this kind of role was a struggle for me, even the acting felt out of place occasionally.
It took me some time to finally watch this one, and I'm glad I did! A slow burner that keeps you interested throughout its duration with good performances, especially by MacKay and Matthew Stagg.
A solid film with a good pace and tension build-up. If you're hoping for loads of gore and jump scares, this one might not be your cup of tea.
What do you do when your action film script is lacking? Pump it up with some exciting action, and the audience might let slide the shortcomings. Unfortunately, that's not the case here. The story is a poorly written cliché, and the action is minimal, giving off that 90s vibe where the hero tries to crack jokes all the time. It's even more disappointing when you know that Mel Gibson could do a much better job at directing and writing than he did acting here.
This film offers an intriguing perspective on possession, complemented by impressive makeup and practical effects in the majority of its scenes, although some portrayals of possessed children towards the end could have been better. However, it falls short in exploring various missed opportunities and unresolved plot points. Additionally, some characters appear underdeveloped, and certain decisions appear as irrational/stupid in a way that not even fear or despair would justify them.
Just to mention a few points from the top of my mind:
At some point we see that the devil has difficulties manifesting the possession on autistic people, this interesting fact is simply thrown away a few minutes later.
What explains Jimi not being possessed after driving over his possessed sister-in-law?
How the kids at the school (terrible acting, btw) moved all those bodies? Including Uriel.
One of the rules “to not get infected” mentioned in the film is to not hurt the possessed, but Pedro slaps the shit out of a little possessed girl????
Everyone seems to know the rules, but they conveniently forget them?
Some good gory practical effects and that’s it, the script is silly and doesn’t deliver tension or fear, just boredom.
