Ok, so you have a team of action girls and must save the world. You have to decide what you will do first.
It depends, of course—save the world from what? It turns out there’s an algorithm in a computer drive that can stop the world from spinning. This is what you discover after looking around. The sky will be filled with planes, the lights will flicker everywhere, and action-chick movie makers like The 355Their checks will suddenly stop clearing.
It was a passion project of Jessica Chastain, the movie’s star. She wanted to do a world-girdling. BourneWomen could star in a female-led adventure movie, which is a good idea. This is a much better option than taking an existing male franchise and making it into a lame “Jane Bond” project. However, despite the predictable travels to Paris, Shanghai, Marrakesh and other places such as Paris and Shanghai. The 355Each has its problems. (The number, by the way, was the code name for a still-unknown female member of George Washington’s Culper spy ring during the Revolutionary War—a pointless cultural nudge for unknowing viewers.)
This story is simple and snoozingly easy. These chicks come from some of the most elite intelligence organizations in the world. Mace is Chastain’s character in the CIA. Diane Kruger is the icy blonde Marie, who hails from Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service. Lupita Nyongo plays the role of computer genius Khadijah. He hails from Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (the MI6). Penélope Cruz’s Graciela is a “skilled psychologist” with the, uh, Colombian Intelligence Directorate. And the mysterious Lin Mi Sheng (Fan Bingbing) is…let’s just say she’s Chinese and leave it at that. (The film was produced with substantial input from Chinese production firms.
These characters may not live up to their claims. Khadijah displays her computer skills by stating, “These algorithms surpass anything I have ever seen.” Chastain’s Mace, it seems, is supposed to be a solid rock of female self sufficiency (“She works alone and lives alone,” says one her colleagues), so it’s a surprise to watch her start to talk with Nick (Sebastian Stan), then suddenly begin to remove her clothes (to the minimal extent permitted by the movie’s PG-13 rating).
Simon Kinberg, who has a long history of producing and writing, is the most problematic director. He was responsible for making the film in its current state. X-Men Dark PhoenixThis is a Marvel picture that remains deeply unloved by the Marvel movie community. Kinberg wrote the script. The 355Theresa Rebeck, Bek Smith and other DOA dialogists. We can accomplish it, the easy or hard way. “You were defeated by a group of girls. Intel chief confesses to his misogyny and tells a woman she’s “having issues with daddy.”
Although action films can be made with mediocre dialogue, they must have compelling action. The action scenes we see are largely done by Kinberg and Tim Maurice Jones, his cinematographer. It doesn’t seem like the camera is ever in a good spot, nor does it feel like someone cares. The camera captures a complex battle at a fish market from unimaginative vantages. This is almost boring to the point that it seems indifferent.
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