Rent it
Summary
Redemption Day isn’t the most exciting or action packed movie ever but the cast are decent and what action there is looks impressive. I liked the characters so hopefully if we get a sequel then we can get more set-pieces.
Plot: When the love of his life is kidnapped and held for ransom by terrorists, a war hero Brad Paxton races against the clock to rescue her in a daring and deadly operation that pits him against the most powerful and shadowy forces.
Review: Redemption Day stars Gary Dourdan (C.S.I.), Serinda Swan and Andy Garcia and although it isn’t exactly packed with action it tells an engaging story with Dourdan making for a sympathetic protagonist in Brad Paxton. He is ex-military and suffering from PTSD trying to live a peaceful life with his wife Kate; while on an archeological expedition in Morocco she gets kidnapped by some extremists on the border with Algeria who think she is a spy.
Brad refuses to sit idly by as his wife is in danger so he vows to rescue her; you’d maybe expect there to then be a lot of action but Redemption Day does something a little different. Rather than barging into a foreign country and killing the bad guys like in Taken, the majority of the movie involves Brad planning on how to infiltrate the country and rescue his wife without causing an international incident.
This is an interesting direction and makes Brad even more likeable but it does slow the pacing down so there isn’t much in the way of action for the first half. It’s really only the final 20 minutes when Brad breaks into the enemy compound that it gets going and he gets to kick some ass.
The characters are engaging enough and I think if we got a sequel (it’s certainly open for one) then I see Kate having a more important role rather than just waiting to be rescued.
The biggest bonus of this movie is Ernie Hudson who play’s Brad’s father and gives him much needed advice; he also deserves a bigger role in a potential follow-up.
Andy Garcia elevates any project so you know if he is involved he will add some class to things and he didn’t disappoint. The performances by the entire cast are all first rate and I thought Samy Naceri made for an intimidating antagonist.
Redemption Day is nicely shot with a sense of style and an awesome music score defying it’s low(ish) budget; it gets quite tense in places especially the scenes with Kate and her kidnappers as we wonder what they will do to her.
Overall, Redemption Day is rather slow at times with little in the way of action but the finale is satisfying and the sequel potential is certainly there. I like the characters of Brad and Kate Paxton so it would be fun to see what happens next.