Verdict
Summary
Survivor is a missed opportunity. Had the editing been as tight as the trailer, it would have worked a lot better. Instead what we are left with is a dull post 9/11 thriller that could have been so much more.
Plot: After being mysteriously framed for a terrorist bombing, a Foreign Service Officer (Milla Jovovich) must evade government capture and death by a ruthless assassin (Pierce Brosnan) in order to stop the real perpetrators’ master-and much deadlier-plan.
Review: Survivor is billed as an ‘action/thriller’, but sadly the action is mediocre and the thrills are nonexistent. The movie had a lot going for it; top names, great locations and director James McTeigue who brought us the fantastic V for Vendetta. Unfortunately those are the only things that separate this film from a grade B movie of the week. Now, having said that, it was not ALL bad. It just came across as very generic and cliched with groan inducing plot holes big enough to drive a truck through.
I am sure if this was on TV late at night it would be a perfectly serviceable and entertaining time waster. Ms. Jovovich and cast do their best with the material and for the most part they all come across as quite believable. Brosnan though, seems bored and appears as the world’s most pedantic killers for hire. Interestingly, as one of the world’s deadliest assassins who has had so many operations no one knows what he looks like, he is merely known by the nickname of The Watchmaker. His cover seems to be to hide in plain-sight, as by day he is, yes you guessed it…a watchmaker. Very tricky Mr. Bond.
Overall, Survivor is a missed opportunity. Had the editing been as tight as the trailer, it would have worked a lot better. Instead what we are left with is a dull post 9/11 thriller that could have been so much more.
