Review of Beyond the Reach (2014) by Patrick L — 19 Aug 2015

"This desert-set thriller should've been more fun than it needs to be".

Movie Review: Beyond the Reach.

Date Viewed: April 17 2015.

Directed By Jean-Baptiste Leonetti.

Screenplay By Stephen Susco, Based on the novel by Robb White.

Starring: Michael Douglas, Jeremy Irvine, Hanna Mangan Lawrence, Ronny Cox, Patricia Bethune and Martin Palmer.

For 40 years now, Michael Douglas has always been one of our finest actors but he chews a lot of ham here in "Beyond the Reach", a ridiculous desert-set thriller. It also happens to be a chase movie with Douglas playing a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with his hunky young guide. Douglas (who also produced the picture) plays Madec, a wealthy business tycoon who goes hunting in the Mojave desert with his young guide, Ben (Irvine).

Ben's girlfriend (Hanna Mangan Lawrence) recently broke up with him and he is now on this hunting trip with Madec. When Madec accidentally shoots an old man dead, he wants Ben to cover up the crime but soon he plays a dangerous game with him. Madec forces Ben to take off his clothes, everything but his shorts. Then he forces Ben to walk in the hot, scorching desert until he burns to a crisp.

Somehow, Ben outwits him and the wealthy tycoon is desperate to find him before he reaches town and calls the police. Director Jean-Baptiste Leonetti has failed to reach his destination. The action is slow and it has no style at all. "Beyond the Reach" is based on a 1972 novel by Robb White called "Deathwatch" and the script by Stephen Susco forgot to add some logic to this deadly game. "Beyond the Reach" has a few good ideas but they are all scorched in a movie that should've been more fun than it needs to be.