Tensile!

Rating: 9/10 (8 November 2008)

A satisfying addition to the Revenge/Action Thriller genre. Its portrayal of violence is reminiscent of Cronenberg's History of Violence, which is to say that every attack is decisive, every punch bone-cracking, every trigger pulled multiple times without hesitation. A ruggedly restrained Liam Neeson ties the whole package together nicely. Luc Besson seems to have really hit his stride here with a newly-realized economy of cinematic language. This is a lean, mean fighting film, nothing flabby about it, not a moment wasted. Although I agree with some of the comments other users have posted about Maggie Grace's seeming misinterpretation of her character's age (perhaps this was a directorial gaffe?), in terms of pure popcorn entertainment value and tight narrative adherence to its basic premise of personal justice, the film deserves a 9/10.