High-Octane
Summary
Fast Charlie is a darkly comedic hitman with a heart (kinda) tale with Pierce Brosnan doing what he does best while sprinkling some nice dialogue and character moments in between the action.
Plot: Charlie Swift is a fixer with a problem: the thug he’s whacked is missing his head and Charlie will only be paid if the body can be identified. Enter Marcie Kramer, the victim’s ex-wife and a woman with all the skills Charlie needs.
Review: Pierce Brosnan is no stranger to playing assassins which is essentially what he is in his latest action picture Fast Charlie from Patriot Games/Salt director Phillip Noyce.
Although it lacks the scale of some of Noyce’s previous action pictures Fast Charlie is a fun ride with plenty of R rated action and a particularly effective fight in an elevator proving that Pierce still has what it takes to carry an action picture.
He is acting his age which an important part of Charlie’s personality as he spends his spare time dreaming of buying an old house in Italy to fix up and retire to. This seems like a mere dream until he meets Ronnie’s (one of his victim’s) ex-wife Marcie Kramer (Morena Baccarin) and they slowly bond while eluding other killers who work for a rival called Beggar (Gbenga Akinnagbe).
Fast Charlie is also one of James Caan’s final roles and it’s heartbreaking to see him look so frail but he is still magnetic any time he is on screen.
The film has a few twists which I genuinely didn’t see coming and it packs in plenty of action in its brisk 90 minute runtime.
The best thing about Fast Charlie is the script and it has some nice moments of wisdom and dark humour in it which I still think about days after watching it; Pierce is still as cool as ever and even despite his profession we still root for him and want him to succeed.
Overall, Fast Charlie is an entertaining hitman with a heart tale with solid performances, an impressive script and no shortage of R rated action scenes making this well worth checking out on a Saturday night.
