Criminally Underrated Movie

Rating: 10/10 (6 July 2017)

I just saw this movie today, roughly three years after release, and can't believe that it took me so long to watch this. The reviews don't do it justice. And as others have said, on paper, the premise doesn't look that interesting, which might also be why I overlooked this. This is a revenge action flick, and the only thing I can think of to explain the lower reviews, is that some people just don't like revenge action movies in general.
The story isn't very complex, which is typical of revenge action. Typically, I prefer a little complexity. Pure action, like Transformers and Max Max Road Fury usually isn't my thing. However, while the story is simple, there is just enough of a story to separate this movie from the two I just mentioned. Some people say the action in this movie is non stop. But I disagree. There are small breaks, just when you need them to explain the films universe, and its characters. Another thing that separates this movie from pure action films like Mad Max Road Fury, is that there is an actual clearly established goal, and you are given a very strong reason to actually care about the protagonist and his desire to accomplish it. Not to mention, an unusually strong reason to really really hate its antagonist(s).
As for the acting, I was very impressed by its lead hero played by Keanu Reeves. He's stepped up his game from previous films. He can really sell the emotion of sadness this time, which was critical in this movie. If he acted the way he did in The Matrix, this whole movie would not have worked for me.