So much potential... wasted

Rating: 5/10 (10 March 2012)

This film throws you in at the deep end, dealing with some very brutal and unpleasant themes, without prolonging them. In fact, it moves so quickly at times you wonder if it has peaked too early, but it maintains it's grip and intensity. There are weak points, but the film is a revenge movie, so it's about the twists, turns and the action, not Oscar worthy performances.
The ending of any film is always the subject of debate, but if I am honest, for this kind of movie it is far less important. While it is dealing with a serious core subject, the style and execution ensures you never feel like it is trying to make a genuinely serious point about morality or right and wrong, rather using these themes as tools to carry the story and the action, which is fine. Unfortunately, the last quarter of this movie is so trite, so ill conceived, and so utterly ridiculous that for me, it does spoil the movie. I cannot recommend this film, but if you can live with the impeding deceit and insult to your intelligence that will inevitably arrive, then it is an engaging and at times quite original take on the revenge genre.