Review of Survivor (2015) by Kevin D — 23 Apr 2016

Terrorism is the driving plot device of the majority of espionage films that dive into the theaters every other month. It's gotten to the point that most political thrillers barely know any other plot device to get the action going.

Survivor tells a similar story using domestic terrorism as the main plot device, but it does so in a much better way than most films in this genre. The events unfold in the typical manner, when army forces fighting in Afghanistan are put in jeopardy, which allows some backlash back home in the U.S and U.K. Meet our lead, Mila Jovovich as Kate Abbott, a security specialist attached to the U.S embassy in London. She is following intel received from her superiors when we meet her, and she seems likely to do a good job. During a typical day at work, she puts herself in the line of fire, and soon after finds herself a target of an exceptional hit-man known as "The Watchmaker" (Pierce Brosnan).

I don't really see how this movie made any headway in the genre, as most of the events follow a very predictable chain of events. What did surprise me was the level of effort the director put into this film to make it seem somewhat believable. It does get a little ridiculous at times, when you just don't think that the lead can get herself into any more trouble, someone comes along to ruin her day. Lots of twists and turns throughout, but certain character motivations seem dubious at times.

A nice little thriller to spend the evening, but don't expect too much.

2/5.