Review of Redemption (2014) by Jesse O — 27 Nov 2013

I think this film has a pretty damn good concept and it's definitely smarter than your average action thriller, I don't really think it goes as deeply as it could with its characters. I think the characters in this film are really interesting and I was definitely drawn into their story as they search for, you guessed it, redemption for past mistakes.

But at the same time, the redemption name, and theme, has a dual purpose as Joey's way of searching for redemption goes in the opposite direction of the word. He hopes to be forgiven by his past mistakes by hurting bad people, which, as he says, doesn't make it right but, in a way, it offers him some kind of inner peace.

And then there's the romance subplot with the nun, which I actually thought was really well done as well, because, while it's clear these two have severe emotional distress, you want them to overcome these and do something positive with their lives, even if it might not be with each other.

This part of the film was, actually, one of the better parts of the film. But, at the same time, I think the film sort of dilutes the original point, and doesn't really do much with Joey's severe PTSD issues, other than a few flashback scenes that hint to what happened with Joey in Iraq.

I do think the film gets back to this theme by the end of the film and you see how Joey comes to term with the fact that his life, since coming back from Iraq, has been shattered and he's been made into someone who can only live a life of violence and crime because it's all he knows.

They also make it a point to illustrate how, when Joey is sober, he hurts people and how when he's drunk he only hurts himself. And that's an interesting side to his story, I just wish the film would've been all about that and his relationship with Cristina, rather than him getting into the criminal underworld and working for a Chinese gang.

I think the film would've been more interesting without that, because the story would've been more focused. The acting was strong as well. I think this is, by far, Jason Statham's best performance and the one where he shows that, when given the chance, he's got some dramatic chops as well.

Despite the rating, I really liked this movie. It's got a very interesting story and lead characters, it's just that the original issue of Joey's PTSD becomes diluted. I think the film certainly comes back to its initial concept, but it's a little too late by that point.

But still, this is a good movie that has more on its mind than most films of this kind.