When writing about new releases there are a number of things
to consider. One of those is knowing the intended audience for a movie.
Cinephiles will most likely not be fond of Marvel superhero flicks. Marvel fans
will not want to watch foreign films. But there is a medium out there, a base
level of movie fan who just wants to sit back and be entertained. If you can at
least offer a quality product then odds are good people will watch your movie.
Such is the case with FIRST KILL.
Hayden Christensen stars as Will, a financial high roller
married to surgeon Laura (Megan Leonard). The two of them have a young son
named Danny (Ty Shelton) whose been having bully issues at school. Thinking
that perhaps they’ve allowed careers to interfere with family duties, the
couple decide to return to Will’s hometown to visit his aunt. Once there he
also plans to take Danny on his first hunting expedition, an experience that
bonded Will with his own father.
As is often the case, things don’t go as planned. While out
in the wild Will and Danny come across two men arguing, one pointing a gun at
the other. They’re arguing about a heist of the local bank that took place
earlier when the unarmed man pulls out a key and tosses it aside. The first man
shoots him and Danny gasps alerting him to their presence. He begins firing at
them and in self-defense Will shoots him only to discover he has killed a
police officer.
Taking the wounded man home for his wife to help, he tries
to figure out what to do next. Before he can put a plan into action Levi
(Gethin Anthony), the wounded man takes Danny hostage and tells Will to
retrieve the key he tossed with instructions of where to find out what to do
next. Before he can follow through the police get involved. The chief (Bruce
Willis) doesn’t believe that will knows nothing and keeps an eye on him.
Now trying to avoid the police as well as locate the key,
Will must do everything he possibly can to see that his son is returned safely.
But when you’re not sure who you can trust, when members of the police force
seem to be in on the heist, how do you know where to turn?
No spoiler alert but from the get go you can pretty much
tell who you can and can’t trust thanks to the trailer and to the performance
of Willis here. I love the man’s movies but lately he seems to be taking on
roles for the paycheck and nothing more. This being a fairly low budget picture
my guess is most of it went to him. That’s not a good thing because honestly
his performance was the weakest seen here.
Christensen does a fine job here. I’ve seen reviews of him
for this and other films where he’s been raked over the coals. When your first
major role is as the father of Luke Skywalker it’s difficult to recover and
move forward into other roles. For me he did a great job here and the haters
online who seem determined to wish him ill will while touting performances by
lesser actors is uncalled for.
But standout among the cast is young Ty Shelton. Some child
actors are terrible, trying to portray characters and roles they are completely
unable to understand let alone carry off believably. Shelton does a great job
here and I’m hoping he gets more offers. In addition to his performance,
Anthony does a great job as well. Good thing because a sub-story here involves
the two of them bonding throughout Danny’s captivity encounter. Levi doesn’t
want to hurt him and would rather find another way to get his money. Danny just
ends up caught in the middle.
The movie looks far more impressive than its budget would
have you believe. The cinematography is great although a few less sky flying
drone shots would have been nice. New technology is wonderful unless it is
overused and that’s the case here. The chase sequences however look fantastic
and help propel the movie forward.
On the whole this movie is not Oscar material but then it
never shoots for that lofty goal. Instead it offers a good story, solid
performances and looks better than most movies with such small funds. It’s a
movie worth renting to watch and enjoy. Hopefully we’ll see more from the
members of this cast.
Click here to order.
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