Prime Time: Memory (2022)

Another week, another Liam Neeson action thriller. I like Neeson. He's an enjoyable actor, he has a good screen presence, and he often looks like he can actually do some of the stuff that his characters are supposed to be able to do. His filmography is really starting to become a chore though, with the duds easily outweighing the good stuff by now. Memory may well be his worst film in some time, although I say that as someone who has got into the habit of ignoring many of his recent releases.

Neeson plays Alex Lewis, a skilled assassin who wants to retire. We all know that usually doesn't work out well for skilled assassins, but Alex knows that he won't be able to do his job for much longer anyway. He is suffering from the onset of Alzheimer's disease, his condition sometimes kept in check by some medicine, but the clock is definitely running out on his time as a feared killer. When Alex refuses to kill one of the targets assigned to him, he finds himself in the frame for the killing anyway. It's all tied to some horrible crimes that have been committed by people who are protected by someone VERY rich and powerful. That wealth and power has stopped the police from being able to conduct any decent investigation, but Alex might be able to do things more effectively than the police.

All you really need to know about Memory is that Neeson plays a character who sometimes has to write pieces of information on his body in order to remember them. And there's a character played by Guy Pearce, who is given the thankless task of starring in this to seemingly remind viewers that Memento exists, and is a much better film than this piece of garbage. It's not just Neeson and Pearce who should be indignant about their casting in this. There's also a small role for Monica Bellucci, as well as Ray Stevenson. None of these familiar faces are doing anything close to their best work. Taj Atwal, Harold Torres, Ray Fearon, and Lee Boardman are also ill-served by the film, but they don't have quite so far to fall from grace.

The screenplay, by Dario Scardapane, is based on a previous screenplay, by Carl Joos, that was based on a book, by Jef Geeraerts (titled De zaak Alzheimer/The Memory Of A Killer). There may have been a time when the material worked, when it may have even felt fresh (the book was published almost 20 years ago), but now it's beyond saving. It's a horrible, limp, lazy, waste of the time and talents of everyone involved.

It's especially saddening that this is directed by Martin Campbell. Campbell has, one or two dips aside, often provided me with the kind of films that I can easily enjoy. Some are better than others, of course, but he can deliver some great action thrillers that use many familiar tropes and moments without feeling stale and worthless. You wouldn't know it from this film though. I really thought this was a film from some first-time director who had been lucky enough to be given a chance on a pet project for some studio producer, there's so little here to signify that it is in an experienced pair of hands.

I have racked my brain to think of one good thing to mention here, from the score to any of the action sequences. There's nothing. The acting from everyone is pretty bad, the plotting is painful, and it's genuinely disheartening to see the likes of Neeson, Pearce, and Bellucci slumming it in something so obviously unworthy of their talents. I am already wishing that I could completely forget it.

2/10

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Prime Time: The Protege (2021)

It always happens. Great success leads to others looking to emulate that success. Which is why we have recently had so many movies lately trying to rework the reluctant/retired/betrayed assassin schtick that worked so well in the John Wick movies. Not that those movies started this particular sub-genre, but they certainly made it more of an action movie staple over the past few years. And The Protege is another one trying to recreate the success of that movie. Unlike many others, however, it fails.

Maggie Q plays Anna, a dangerous young woman who works with the equally dangerous Moody (Samuel L. Jackson). Together, they specialise in finding people who don’t want to be found. Those people often then end up dead. The latest target is perhaps their hardest yet, someone who has managed to practically disappear off the face of the planet. One of his main men is Rembrandt (Michael Keaton), a charming and cultured individual who you can suspect is a villain due to him being . . . Michael Keaton. Bullets and fists fly, and Anna grows more and more determined to complete the job she was assigned.

There’s a good pedigree behind the camera here. Martin Campbell, who successfully reinvigorated the Bond franchise twice, is the director. He delivered some great swashbuckling with the most recent blockbuster Zorro movies. He also directed The Foreigner, which was a very good action thriller. And I am one of the few people who didn’t hate Green Lantern.

Then we have the writer. Richard Wenk. Wenk has written a number of top-notch action movies throughout the last decade, but he is also the writer-director of Vamp. So Richard Wenk is a firm favourite of mine. This isn’t his best work though. It’s a silly script aiming to be lifted by the main stars, but one seriously lets everyone down.

The disappointment here comes from Maggie Q. She just isn’t good here in the lead role, never convincing in the action sequences and never even able to get her line delivery just right. This is movie dialogue, not dialogue attempting to be realistic, but Q fails to invest the words with any energy or charisma. Jackson is better, playing a character he has played a version of in numerous other films, and Michael Keaton continues to be the magnetic star that he has been for decades. Q has the starring role, yet the film would be pretty worthless without the presence of her main co-stars. 

There is enough here to save this from being an awful viewing experience. It’s technically fine, the pacing is good, and I may have already mentioned Keaton making it better with his presence. But there’s too much here also dragging things down. No other characters stand out, none of the fights hit that sweet spot where they feel both grounded and cinematically satisfying, and I defy anyone to actually care about how things turn out in the grand finale.

The end result is ultimately a bit below average, which feels much more disappointing when the ingredients were mixed in for what should have been an easy success.

4/10

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Noir November: Cast A Deadly Spell (1991)

A noir set in a world full of magic, this TV movie allows viewers to enjoy a memorable adventure in the life of detective H. Philip Lovecraft (see what they did there?), a man tasked with recovering a stolen book that just happens to be the Necronomicon.

Fred Ward plays Lovecraft, and does well in the role. He's always ready with a dry, witty comeback and he can take whatever's thrown at him. Which is sometimes magical, despite his own rule of never using any. He's hired by Amos Hackshaw (David Warner) to find that big book, which leads him to a run-in with his ex-partner (Clancy Brown) and the lovely Connie Stone (Julianne Moore). Before you can say "The Maltese Cthulhu" it all starts to get twisty and dangerous.

Joseph Dougherty's script may not constantly reference the author that lends his name to the main character, but there are plenty of little touches that certainly give the man a tip of the hat. There's also a big finale that could have been ripped from any number of Lovecraft tales, which allows for some great tension and fun for fans.

Director Martin Campbell treats the standard detective story seriously enough, yet manages to keep things light and enjoyable with the numerous details that come together to create the world that the main characters inhabit. This is a world of lively gargoyles, drinks being poured by servers who can levitate items, people being marked for death by dangerous runes, and much more. While not exactly action-packed from start to finish, the film is paced nicely and contains at least three of four decent set-pieces.

Ward seems comfortable in his role, as if it's the kind of part he always wanted but somehow missed out on. Warner does his usual kind of thing, and it's what he does well. He's been around a while, and knows a thing or two about . . . . . . a thing or two. And Brown is a bit gruff and intimidating, which is what HE does well. The one drawback among the main leads is Julianne Moore, who just doesn't fit her role as well as anyone else. She seems strangely out of time, a bit too contemporary. I can't explain it any better than that. Perhaps it's the forced attempt to make her extra sexy at all times, which doesn't pay off at all during scenes that force her to pretend to be singing, or maybe it's just my eyesight. Alexandra Powers is suitably lovely, playing the virginal daughter of Warner's character, Raymond O'Connor is suitably unlovely as a henchman named Tugwell, and Arnetia Walker is a fun addition, playing a witch trying to look after our hero (even if he doesn't always pay his rent on time). Lee Tergesen has a couple of decent scenes, but his character is used for a surprise/twist that doesn't have any impact, thereby rendering it unsurprising.

While it never quite does enough to break out of the confines of the small screen, Cast A Deadly Spell does enough to make it well worth tracking down. The details throughout make it a relatively unique experience, ripe for (re)discovery. I could even say, perhaps in a whisper, that this could also be ripe for a remake.

7/10

The film is, at this time, available on YouTube. It deserves a disc release, but until now this video is one way to own it - http://www.amazon.com/Cast-Deadly-Spell-Fred-Ward/dp/6302233941/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1416849379&sr=1-1&keywords=cast+a+deadly+spell