A Thriller that's Small on Thrills

Rating: 6/10 (11 October 2015)

Child 44 is a decent movie with a reasonably developed storyline and a very talented cast. As far as the flaws in this film goes, the performances are the least of their worries, Tom Hardy shines in the lead role, proving his versatility as an actor once again and showing that he is currently one of the best actors in Hollywood, the best scenes are certainly the ones between him and Gary Oldman, as we watch them both shine in a movie that they're both too good for, even the small parts have brilliant casting, with top class actors such as Jason Clarke and Vincent Cassel all delivering brief, well acted cameos. For a thriller, the film is very tight on actual thrills, and it's a shame because the storyline alone made this sound like an "edge of your seat" type of movie, but there just aren't any big moments, no parts that shock and terrify its audience and give us a clear sense of the dangerous situation the character is in, the most thrilling moments are the ones that are mentioned, but are never actually shown, and if you're expecting an exciting finale that makes up for the slow moving two hours, don't get your hopes up. The film also seemed to have had a major issue with tone, it was never quite sure where it was going, it had moments that played like a thriller, others like a compelling drama, then some psychological scenes, it was never really sure what genre of film it actually wanted to be, and I think if the film had stuck with being a drama then it could have been much better, the slow moving story arc would have been appreciated more and audiences wouldn't be left disappointed because of it being advertised as a straight up thriller, which it definitely wasn't. For the performances, it's worth the watch, but you shouldn't go out of your way to see it, Child 44 simply isn't worth it.
During the reign of Joseph Stalin, a Russian police officer investigates a series of child murders.
Best Performance: Tom Hardy Worst Performance: Noomi Rapace