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Review 24 Hours to Live (2017): Ethan goes John WIck, sort of!

genre: action, thriller






Before you get all excited it is important to realize that this film while containing good action is nowhere near as good as John Wick. Apart from a few elements it has very little in common. Instead the focus lies on redemption of main character Travis Conrad played by Ethan Hawke. Was that adequate for me?

In hindsight this is the type of film that can be very enjoyable very late at night when nothing else is on. It has just enough going on for itself to keep your interest. However if you were hoping to get thrilled and surprised then I will have to disappoint you since the plot is as generic as it comes. Every event plays out as you expect it would be and it ruins the immersion a little bit. If not for the fact that the good cast do their best with the generic material and they do manage to make it somewhat worth of your time. Although there were some moments that took their sweet time to get to the point. Obviously these moments were put in as padding since there is very little plot and intrigue to sink your teeth in. These moments got on my nerve big time.

I don't get why they even bothered to put such emphasis on the plot as most of the people just wanted to see Ethan Hawke kick ass. That is the whole point of films like these. Sure you can put in enough of a story to move the film along and give the characters some depth so that the action scenes involving them will be more exciting. Especially Paul Anderson and Xu Qing (Looper, Flash Point) stood out. Rutger Hauer unfortunately is nothing but a glorified cameo and could not even be bothered to do a decent Southern accent. Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones) is on automatic pilot but solid as the head honcho. The acting overall was therefore quite adequate. But the biggest problem is the fact that they dropped the ball making that action and stunts itself exhilarating. It looked like Hawke was very capable to go all John Wick but he is not really given a chance to. I think we can put that blame solely on director Brian Smrz. The only other film he has directed is Hero Wanted. He does have experience as a unit director and stunt coordinator for some notable action films but clearly does not have enough vision to be fresh and creative.

Like I said this is one to watch late at night when nothing else is on otherwise I wouldn't bother. But I hope that Ethan Hawke has developed a taste to do the more hands on action roles like this since it suits him. So was it adequate for me? Yes but only barely. 





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