Review of Survivor (2015) by Matthew D — 04 Oct 2018

A bland post 9/11 espionage thriller.

The pace is medium to quick, but it is Survivor (2015) is rather dull for a thriller. The convoluted plot and mediocre writing makes the movie feels a lot longer than its meager 96 minutes. I wish it were better, but it devolves into so bad it's funny territory by the laughable finale. I doubt most audiences could even keep track of its muddled narrative with its pandering message, however well intentioned. The amateur dialogue gives Survivor a generic tv movie feel.

Unfortunately, for all its adequate direction and decent cinematography filled with nice lighting, framing, and panning, Survivor falls flat with its overall direction. James McTeigue has fallen far since V for Vendetta. This is not thrilling, nor is Survivor a clever espionage tale. It is bare bones in structure and basic in storytelling.

Milla Jovovich is quite uninteresting as the lead. Her bland facial expressions and general carefree attitude makes Survivor feels very low stakes. The whole supporting cast could easily be replaced with anyone else since they do nothing.

The only saving grace for Survivor is the highly entertaining performance from Pierce Brosnan. He is cool and dangerous and you constantly feel that he is the threat. His subtle acting goes to waste as he is given childish remarks and witless dialogue to endure to the end. I wish Survivor focuses more on him instead of Jovovich.

In all, Survivor is a very dumb thriller with few thrills in between endless chase sequences and a few neat moments. If only this were more of an action movie or more of a clever espionage story. I'd say to pass on Survivor.