humdrum

Rating: 5/10 (1 March 2015)

Denzel Washington makes this film watchable, but even he can't make it soar. A former military man works in a home depot, but has to fall back on his 'special skill set' in order to help those around him. The guy is less Good Samaritan and closer to goody-two shoes. He wants to launch the singing career of a prostitute, and help a tubby colleague slim down to take a test. It is all a bit saccharine and twee, till an intriguing Russian villain shows up carrying real menace. From there the film becomes more action oriented, but still doesn't out-do the Taken or Bourne franchises. Our man goes back to his bosses to ask not for help, but "permission," an especially sleek piece of dialogue. The film is tonally inconsistent, and seems too obviously an attempt to re-boot the TV show. Denzel is as charismatic as ever, but his range is barely tested in this role. A decent B-movie action flick, but not much more.