The
director of Training Day brings us Die Hard meets Air Force in this ultra
violent, ultra bloody, profanity laden, action flick that relies heavily on
explosions, effects, and the body count and less on character building, story,
and outright reality. Gerard Butler plays the John McClane clone role,
but with a lot less finesse and humanity. Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart,Two Face from the Dark Knight, and Dylan McDermott, why, round off the uneven
cast, playing what can only be described, at best, as facsimiles of the characters
they attempt to establish. In the end, they achieve only one dimensional and predictable
incarnations lacking any substance or genuineness. Harrison Ford made
the president in Air Force One legitimate and relatable, someone to root for.
Eckhart doesn't even come close with his rendition of the commander and
chief. Freeman, who usually endears as well as entertains, bores
instead, which hurts my heart to even type as I have so much respect for the man
and his craft. Finally Butler has zero talent and presence on the screen,
and I have yet to see a film to give me reason to think otherwise. The
story's unbelievability is what actually derails this flick, in addition to the
director's, need to create mass carnage on an almost epic scale. I know
it is an action yarn, but may I please have even a small dose of creativity and
depth? The film bombed at the box office, most likely because with all
the turmoil in the world, the terrifying concept may have hit to close to home.
Or even more so, that it was just a horrible mess of a film overall.
0 out of 5 Kernels: I was honestly waiting for Butler to yippee ki yay
someone this was such an obvious and irritating rip off.
