Forgettable Fun
Summary
Canary Black is mostly unremarkable and will likely quickly be forgotten by most, but it’s still a fun time with Beckinsale as awesome as ever and Ray Stevenson in his final role. There is some impressive action and it’s not afraid to show its R rating, so if it becomes a franchise I’ll be there to see what happens next.
Plot: Avery Graves, a CIA operative, is blackmailed by terrorists into betraying her own country to save her kidnapped husband. Cut off from her team, she turns to her underworld contacts to survive.
Review: I’ve been looking forward to Canary Black as I love Kate Beckinsale (especially in action roles), but it’s also directed by Pierre Morell (Taken).
I knew the action would at least be impressive and it didn’t disappoint. We get fight scenes, shoot-outs and an awesome car chase through a city.
In Canary Black Beckinsale plays Avery Graves who works for the CIA, but when her husband is kidnapped, she has to go rogue and find a file or he will be killed. It feels like there are genuine stakes in this movie with not only Avery’s husband facing death, but the whole world is in danger if the bad guys get the McGuffin.
It is as you’d expect generic stuff and doesn’t do anything new, but it’s still entertaining due to its decent pacing and brisk runtime.
This is also Ray Stevenson’s final role and reminds us that he was taken far too soon as he just elevated anything he was in; he was the best thing about Ahsoka and will be sorely missed.
I like how Avery is far from indestructible and really goes through the ringer emotionally and physically where she doesn’t know who she can trust anymore. It’s also not afraid to show its R rating with some surprisingly brutal moments.
The script doesn’t have much you’ll think about after viewing and I doubt anyone will be quoting it 5 years from now.
Canary Black of course is very open for a potential franchise and if we get future entries then I’ll be here for it as this delivered what I’d expected from it. I was prepared for certain story elements, but there were a few surprises to keep things interesting.
Overall, Canary Black may not set the world on fire, but for a streaming movie it has some decent action set-pieces with the added bonus of Kate Beckinsale and Ray Stevenson. You could do worse than watching this on a Saturday night after a few beers.