Those who wish to see more of Angelina Jolie, get their wish with this (literal) blazing inferno of a movie. And why wouldn’t you want to, she is by far one of the most talented and absolutely the most devastatingly gorgeous movies stars alive. The woman can say more with an eyebrow motion than most actresses can do with a sex scene. And sure, she’s been too busy lately saving the world and all that, but in her wild/wilder younger years, these are exactly the sort of movies she did…because she’s really good in and at action.
This isn’t a given either, there are plenty of talented actresses out there who can’t do action as Jessica Chastain has recently demonstrated in the lamentably underwhelming Ava. But Jolie can…from aerial ballets of Tomb Raider to a variety of kickass scenes from Wanted, etc. She has done a convincing spy turn including a credible accent. All those movies were oodles and oodles of fun. Which highlights the fact that this movie, while relatively similar, isn’t on the same level. This movie is a straight up one note thriller with Jolie playing a smokejumper haunted by a wrong spur of the moment decision a year ago that cost some young boys their lives. It wasn’t really her fault, the wind is tough to predict, honest mistake and all that, but, you know, she’s haunted to give her character dimensions. She’s still firefighting though, the only lady in a team of intrepid party loving dudes, and one day, while stuck in a observation tower as a punishment from her sheriff ex, played by America’s only one of two examples of ugly sexy that’s so popular in Europe (the other one being the mighty brooding oak tree that is Adam Driver), she encounters a frightened kid, alone and on the lam. The kid is a son of forensic accountant (the doughy Jack Weber) who has uncovered something for which one might and does get killed. This isn’t really explained, because the movie is short and A Jolie vehicle and there’s no Jolie in forensic accounting. Anyway, there’s now a team of the perennially oleaginous looking Aidan Gillen and a way too cute and fresh faced for this X Men mutant kid all grown up. Grown up to the extent of comically towering over Gillen, but whatever, they are both unconscionably and indiscriminately lethal in different way. But anyway, they are after the kid, Jolie is all that stands in their way…let the battle begin. Lots of action, lots of shooting and, of course, lots of fire. Jolie takes copious amounts of physical abuse in this movie, but her innate mamabear insticts take over (no, wait, that’s real life)…her inner goodness and desperation for redemption take over and she does her superhero best to adopt rescue the kid. And that’s basically the entire movie. Entertaining for what it is, but nothing special. Nor is it a worthy enough vehicle for its star. Just gonna have to wait for Eternals to come out. Until then there is this sexy Smokey Bear movie of an ad.
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