Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong
James McTeigue showed plenty of promise in his directorial debut, V for Vendetta but unfortunately we still are waiting for him to surpass that Film’s greatness to this day. The issues surrounding his latest effort Survivor, do not lie solely direction alone, the Screenplay by Philip Shelby remains the roughest patch.
Survivor focuses on Albit (Milla Jovovich) who is a Foreign Service officer, the first line of defense against Terrorists, and how her world comes crumbling down on top of her after The Watchmaker (Pierce Brosnan) takes out her Colleagues. Now on the run after having been blacklisted as the person responsible for the attack, she has to find The Watchmaker and prevent an attack on a major U.S. City. Her Boss, Sam (Dylan McDermott) is the only one who believes her, while Bill (Robert Foster) is the one forcing the manhunt to find her. Can she become the Survivor she needs to be, or will The Watchmaker fulfill his attack?
While some performances in Survivor fall short of expectation, Jovovich delivers a Resident Evil-esque display, which will resonate with her ardent Fanbase. She commands the screen and moreover the Film itself, but it is her Co-stars whom unfortunately leave us hoping for more. Pierce Brosnan phones-in his performance almost entirely, making us feel as though his days of grandeur as Bond seem that much further behind him. However, Dylan McDermott also does a fair job and the chemistry shared between him and Jovovich certainly helps this unfocused piece.
The problems with Survivor rely heavily on the Script as this Action-Thriller is derailed and comes-off at times feels comedic in its tendency to take itself so seriously.
VVS Films releases Survivor in theaters and VOD on Friday May 29, 2015.
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