The Courier

Plot synopsis:
"The Courier" lives in a derelict flat where he has adopted a mouse as his pet. When he visits his old friend Stitch at his boxing gym, he is contacted by a stranger who tasks him with delivering a suitcase to a man known as "Evil Sivle". The stranger does not know where Sivle is and explains that the finding of this person is the actual task. It is made unequivocally clear that the courier is at no liberty to refuse this mission and shall expect his own death should he fail. After the client threatens their loved ones, Stitch sends his family into hiding. The courier starts by hacking into the FBI database. When he needs a pilot, Stitch assigns him his adopted daughter, Anna. Although skeptical of her skill, the courier comes to respect her.
The courier's attempts to find Sivle only lead to killings. After another associate of Sivle's has been killed right under his eyes, the police arrest the courier. To his surprise, he is soon released and finds out that his unrequested client works for the FBI. The courier visits him at home and learns that the suitcase is from Russia and that the FBI considers it the only chance to get to Evil Sivle, who is an infamous assassin. The FBI agent also points out that Evil Sivle is about to turn tables with the courier. The FBI agent gets to Anna and convinces her to leak information about the courier's progress on the promise that the FBI can help fix the mess. When the courier finds out, he becomes angry leaves her. Meanwhile, Sivle orders a duo of assassins to kill Stitch and Anna.
The assassins kill Stitch. As the courier and Anna mourn his loss, the assassins attack them. The courier sends Anna to safety with Stitch's family and bugs the assassins. When they detect the bug, the assassins feed him disinformation that leads to his capture and eventual torture. When they give him a rest, he escapes and kills them. Before dying, one reveals that Sivle is in Las Vegas. There, the courier realizes that the name Evil Sivle is "Elvis Live" backward. When he finally confronts Evil Sivle, an Elvis impersonator at a Las Vegas club, Sivle reveals the truth: the courier is actually Sivle, and the man he has found is Maxwell, his old partner. Maxwell killed everyone but Sivle and his son, and Sivle suffered amnesia as a result of an injury. After Maxwell taunts Sivle about the death of his wife, Sivle kills Maxwell, leaving him without any way to find his son.

Tags: revenge, murder, flashback

Review:
Mickey Rourke and Lili Taylor, two actors who can really deliver the goods, were incredibly wasted and about a third of the way into it you realized it was going to be all style and no substance, and that was when I just stopped caring.
The movie started out great, getting to know the courier and his type of work, just finishing a job.
Our courier stumbles through his unlikely adventure to complete his job and gets, true to the movie, an ironic surprise ending that made no sense.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a specialist in delivering packages without questions in Hany Abu- Assad's, The Courier.
The best in this niche industry, Morgan is forced to take on a job to protect those close to him by delivering a package to someone who is supposedly dead.
A dark mystery unravels as he gets closer to discovering the truth about his target and himself.With notable performances on the small screen in Supernatural and Grey's Anatomy as well as a significant contribution in Zack Snyder's, Watchmen, one shouldn't be surprised with Morgan headlining a suspense thriller.
OK this film isn't bad.The first reason why it's disappointing it's because - just like Black Death (2010) - it tries to "keep it real" way too much ..
Some of the shots are truly amateurish, and often the camera-work fails to make a scene interesting.Having said that, The Courier isn't half bad, there are plenty things i liked in it, from the fight moves to the casting (the lead is a bit wooden, the girl fits the part OK~ish, the detective is perfect), and the whole production is pretty decent.I also don't subscribe to the whole "it's full of cliché'" thing; if anything, it tries to avoid clichés in a film genre where everything has already been done.
All in all, i can say that it's an interesting film to watch, even though i get the feeling the director has a background in TV - seriously, you (whomever you are) truly murdered what could have been an interesting flick.So, after all considerations, i give The Courier a decent 6/10 - better than MI3, and no Tom Cruise..
There is absolutely nothing worth seeing about this movie, that is basically being just a very standard modern action flick, with a poor story but even worse storytelling.Quite weird and surprising to learn that this movie got directed by Hany Abu-Assad, who definitely has class and skills in him and is mostly known for directing smaller type of movies, with a strong message in them.
They tried to create a smaller and more realistic type of action movie but the story and its characters really aren't suited for that.
I actually believe I might had liked this movie better, had it been done as a silly and over-the-top action-flick, in a more '80's type of style.The movie has a very simple concept but it makes things needlessly difficult.
That should give you an idea of how this movie is like.Those who are looking for a movie with plenty of action to enjoy will also end up feeling disappointed by this movie.
This movie feels like such an extremely low-budget one and things don't get any more exciting than a couple of poorly filmed gunfights.
Bad guys and gals hinder him at every turn and violence ensues, leading up to an inevitable confrontation and in this case a neat little twist that admittedly defies any sort of reason, yet is fun for the actors to play out and provides sensationalism, a trait that's commonplace in such films.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a haggard presence in any role, a guy you immediately feel rooted to in a scene.
He gets the lead role here, playing an underground criminal courier, passing along dangerous goods from one cloak and dagger person to another.
Mickey Rourke shows up late in the game as Maxwell, a mysterious Elvis impersonator and Vegas gangster who plays a crucial role in Courier's quest.
Trust Rourke to take a derivative, underwritten supporting character and turn the few minutes of screen time he has into utter gold that elevates his scene onto a plane which the film as a whole is sheepishly undeserved of.
The ending did make it a little better and the second half was entertaining but this is pretty much "Transporter 4".
Sometimes I sort of wish I never started doing something, so I guess in a way writing this review is very much like The Courier, essentially pointless and a complete waste of my time and not even getting to the level of 'so bad it's good'.
It's actually amazing that I've managed to write this much to be honest, I only finished watching The Courier 10 minutes ago and it's already slipping out of my brain to the extent that I'm not entirely sure what actually happened at the end anymore (the first half has gone already).
Normally this would be good as valuable brain space isn't being taken up by The Courier but I expect by the end of the day all memory of this very forgettable film will be erased from my memory which leaves the very real possibility that one day in the future I might see it's title when I'm looking for some rubbish action film to watch and actually waste my time by watching it again with a nagging sense of déjà vu and I won't be sure if it's because I've watched the courier before or that it's just generic rubbish.So that's 10 lines of text done (in fact more than 10 lines which is a lot more than The Courier deserves) so I'm going to do something more interesting than watching The Courier such as watching paint dry or sitting in a dark empty room..
the story was good , the music was average and the last thing the acting was average too , but that doesn't mean this movie was awful, because
Could have been a really good movie with a better writer and a decent director.
A Courier (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is tasked with delivering a package to a crime boss (Mickey Rourke) thought to be dead.
But like so many other movies nowadays, we feel a bit let-down when the screen goes black.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan, an exceptional actor who never seems to be the right fit for his character, does the best he can with what he has.
"Yeah, I Watched That Movie." That is what I will say to people when they ask if I have seen "The Courier".
Excellent film starring Mickey Rourke who gives a fine performance.
and a cast of fine supporting actors.In the old studio days they would be called character actors and they would be part of a Studio stock company, for example John Ford has the same people like Jane Darwell, and Aldo Ray cast in his films, and Otto Preminger also had some of the same actors Such as Carol Lynley, and Keir Dullea and Jill Haworth,, and John Wayne cast many of the same people such as Glenn Corbett and Maureen O Hara, and Aldo Ray. The audiences never seemed to be bored and in fact looked forward to seeing these fine actors.
AND THEN be allowed to take the same plane back to the original departure location!Mickey Rourke gets worse with each movie.
Seriously, either the tax write-offs must be very attractive, or there are some considerably wealthy individuals who are just desperate to proclaim, "I'm making a movie" to their friends."The Courier" has so many flaws it's hard to know where to begin.
Add to that the father figure, who like some bad impression of Huggy-bear, seems to know everything and everyone that's happening on the street and, well...you're starting to get the picture.It's as if the writers were working from a "Scriptwriting for Dummies" book.
I mean why bother being a high-risk delivery man, which is clearly not paying off too well for him, when he could have a highly lucrative career working for Google?I could go on, but I feel the less said about this movie the better.
Suffice to say that of 968 films I've rated on IMDb, "The Courier" ranks as number 3 in my all-time worst list, only bested by "Little Nicky", and "2001, A Space Travesty".Regrettably one or two decent actors took part in this disaster, so it's clear that work is hard to come by in tinsel town these days.
Like a previous review mentioned, this movie actually started out fairly promising.
Though it seemed to be a lower budget and weaker scripted version of The Transporter, at least it had some credibility with favored actors like Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Til Schweiger, not to mention Mickey Rourke, and the action was fast paced and fun.Unfortunately, by the time Micky Rourke even shows the back of his head, I no longer cared.
The action sequences, though not terrible, no longer hold any weight due to the confusion caused by the messy script, and plot holes and character inconsistencies abound.Til Schweiger is totally wasted here, and Mickey Rourke is practically non-existent, though I can't say I blame him.
I found myself getting angrier that I was still watching this mess as the minutes rolled by.The end could not have been worse.
I was busy watching condensation roll down my glass by this time, then was startled back to the screen by the movie ending abruptly.So all in all, not good.
I give it a 3 for the first 30 minutes, and for Jeffrey Dean Morgan who did his best with what he had..
As a Rourke Fan (especially Angel Heart !!!) i found the new film from Director Hany Abu Assad quite amusing.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan was refreshing and most sympathetic, while our Star Til Schweiger was not as bad as i usually remember him.
Most impressing were a couple of good action sequences ( hard core torture with Miguel Ferrer) and the most hilarious scene I've ever seen Mickey in...him doing a rather short Elvis impersonation...as I said: hilarious.The Storyline lacks here and there an it does indeed remind one of "The Transporter" (I heard they had this movie already a couple of years in the pipeline, hence the "old" story) and "Angel Heart".
On the other Hand it is strict and forward,no big misleading story lines, which of course means that you know rather quickly, where the train is going...unless you have never seen Angel Heart, that is.One thing stroke me odd though, the End is a bit ...let's say unusual, or maybe I did not understand the film at all ;-)Do not expect a great action thriller - because it is not !
At start I liked the movie, the lead character, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (in someway resembles a younger version of Nicolas Cage ;-) plays a good role, very convincing.
The story appears interesting with some hints to movies like "the transporter".
I saw it coming: Stitch has to die and agreed to myself that if he does I stop watching the movie, well -of course- he did so at that moment I knew the story is one of the dozen and I stopped watching...
We (the watchers) have had enough of this kind of "really bad guy that kills almost everyone except the lead character movies"..
I had it at the top of my weekly movie viewing and I happen to really, really, like Jeffrey Dean Morgan although the poor guy has such a hard time finding his way in Hollywood and this won't help him one little bit.
They try to slap together a few ingredients from other like minded action films and things that someone "thought" would look cool on screen but its cheesy, incredibly cheesy, with terrible dialogue and a story that makes absolutely no sense.
I knew what I was in for right from the first scene (which seems to have very very little bearing on the actual story) but is blatantly done on a green screen so much so that it looks hokey.
There are some genuinely violent scenes, the shoot outs are actually not bad, and some of the cinematography and locations settings are actually pretty good but it doesn't even come close to saving this absolute garbage-fest.I love Jeffrey Dean Morgan!
His style of acting is better suited for porn films because the guy is just atrocious.
That's an anagram from Lives just to ruin the surprise for everyone...believe me I'm doing you a favour,) whom they show only in shadows and from behind to mask his identity when its obvious from voice, profile and the cover of the movie that its Mickey Rourke.
She is awful and the chemistry between her and Morgan is completely nil and awkward.As if the film couldn't get any worse they tack on this ridiculous non-sensical twist ending that is a complete laugh and is really the perfect lid on this garbage pail movie.
You are bound to think that this movie has Jeffrey Dean Morgan as a cheap version of Jason Statham in the role of the transporter; I hate to admit I did, and I'm a J.D. Morgan fan.
The plot is meant to have us discover the true identity of the courier and of his former associate in a surprise scene at the end.
Rourke has less screen time than his credit would have us hope for.It's sort of a mystery action, but the mystery part just doesn't quite keep you interested; that mystery, when it does get revealed/explained way at the end is somewhat of a letdown.
The fact that the key mystery figure, Evil Sivle played by Mickey Rourke, is masquerading as an Elvis impersonator, pretty lame anagram, would be enough to dissuade most from watching the movie.
Well, I guess now that I spoiled it for you, you can thank me by checking the box for useful review.I'm a hard core J.D. Morgan fan and I love long time character actor Mark Margolis, whose performance in TV highest rated series Breaking Bad leaves no doubt about his acting talent, so I stuck it out to the bitter end.
I think Morgan's career is getting hot, since his role as Clay in the 2010 movie The Losers; I liked his short role in the other 2010 movie Shanghai (not a popular release – it's a film noir genre that's not usually popular anyway).
Minor Spoilers Only.I rented this because my mother really like Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
I have a lot of trouble watching movies with her, as she dosen't want to watch a movie with an actor she dosen't like or she can't watch too violent movie and so on.When i saw this movie in the suspense category with that actor, i said why not, i was actually surprised she liked "The Loosers" when we watched it so i rented this.The movie start in a good way, the plot seem to show promise, the dark gritty feel is also pretty good, but sadly as the movie unfold and all, it lost itself into too many different stuff and the final twist have a hard time making sense.This movie was never meant to be a transporter rip-off or whatever, and i think if the screenplay was done better, it could had been really interesting but some elements poped out of nowhere and i dunno, like i said it lost itself.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan, did a great job.
Then the ending with the couriers son, where did that come from and what happened to the son?
The end result...the movie didn't make any sense, it didn't have a cohesive plot.The writer/screenwriter truly failed at what could have been a very good action movie.What a colossal waste of money for the backers..
It had the dusty smell of comic book turned live action, but not in a good way.While Stitch is binding up his wounds from the opening sequence, The Courier gets a new case.
He's offered 120,000 USD if he succeeds; if not, people who like him, but don't know his criminal associations, will be enlightened, but not in a good way.
So he takes the job.The Courier (can't remember his name or early life) gets a clue to the whereabouts of his target, Evil Sivle (oi, Elvis Live) from the Internet, plus some porous online databases.
They manage to escape for a while, and the Courier gets a little information linking Evil Sivle and Maxwell.
-----Scores------Cinematography: 8/10 Dark, gloomy, but well-shot.Sound: 7/10 Eh, OK.Acting: 6/10 There are some good actors here: Mickey Rourke, Mark Margolis, Lily Taylor, Miguel Ferrer, and Josie Ho; Jeffrey Dean Morgan is not so bad either.
What I noticed about JDM in the movie is whomever took care of him...look up the word continuity.
But the movie itself is not good.
Morgan did carry this whole horrible movie alone and did well.
The courier delivered an empty box.The acting performance of Morgan was still enjoyable, but the story on its own is so far fetched and left more question marks at the end than any other movie.The beginning was promising, the action was at times alright.
And I suppose it's just me, but I didn't quite understand the end (I had to rewind it briefly) immediately and they didn't need to put the name "Mickey Rourke" on the movie poster.
Mostly you only saw his back (I suppose it was his), and then he acts like a bad looking Elvis for 3 minutes.
Looks like his face is fully injected with botox.Just another crap movie.More reviews at http://opinion-as-a-moviefreak.blogspot.be/.
But lets look at the movies cast for second first.
Now he either missed out on opportunities after that or didn't get offered better roles I suppose.Whatever it is, he is not alone in this movie.
But when I say main bad guy, you obviously having seen the movie (or not caring), should know that he actually isn't.