Netflix And Chill: Mile 22 (2018)

The opening of Mile 22 is a pretty good one. A black ops team (I guess that is the best term to use) bust their way into a house full of potential terrorists, take control of the situation, and then lose control when an extra baddie starts shooting from his hiding place. That means every terrorist needs to be shot, just before the house explodes. The ending is also pretty good. Not completely unexpected, but it's nice to see just how far they take things. I won't detail it here because I try to avoid spoilers. Suffice to say, it wasn't as simplistic and jingoistic as I expected. Unfortunately, the many scenes in between the beginning and the end aren't as good.

Mark Wahlberg plays James Silva, the leader of the team (because of course he is). Their latest mission is to get some dangerous explosive powder off the streets. It's so powerful that Wahlberg compares it to Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. They end up striking a deal with one person who can help them, a police officer named Li Noor (Iko Uwais). Li just wants his transportation out of the country guaranteed. A lot of people want to stop that from happening, turning an urban area into a small war zone in the process.

Director Peter Berg seems to have found his comfort zone in the last five years or so, helming action thrillers that allow Wahlberg to continue his run of tough guy hero roles. It seems to be working for him, for both of them, and people who have enjoyed any of their films together will continue to enjoy their work. It's just a shame that Berg cannot work as well with all of his cast members, but I'll get back to that shortly.

The script, by Lea Carpenter, does enough to keep the information flowing without interrupting the flow of action sequences. At a near-perfect runtime of about 94 minutes, the pacing is excellent, and I can't imagine anyone after a fix of gunfights, martial arts, and military hardware, being too disappointed by this.

Fans of Uwais might be disappointed though, especially when they realise that Berg directs hand to hand combat sequences as if he'd been given advice from Paul W. S. Anderson. Uwais does well in his role, and he gets to show off his fighting prowess in one or two main set-pieces. It's just very unfortunate that his physical work is undermined by the horrible camerawork and editing. Although not perfect, the gunfights are filmed better, which helps the performances from Wahlberg, Lauren Cohan, Ronda Rousey, and Sam Medina, and the other supporting players. Cohan fares particularly well, convincing as a tough team member who can hold her own alongside Wahlberg. You also get a supporting role for John Malkovich. He's almost completely wasted, but I always like seeing Malkovich in a movie.

Mile 22 may be a bit of a mess, but at least it's an entertaining one. It would have been much better with someone other than Wahlberg in the lead role, which is something I can say about many of his movies, but all of the other people involved help to make up for that. As do those scenes that bookend the bulk of the main plot.

6/10

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The Last Seduction (1994)

In the opening scenes of The Last Seduction we find out that the lead character, Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino, in her best ever role), isn't very nice. She's smart, but not very nice. Just how smart she is, and how nasty, only becomes clear as the plot unfolds, and things move towards a fantastic, dark, entertaining climax (no pun intended, considering the libido and confidence of Bridget).

Directed by John Dahl, and written by Steve Barancik, The Last Seduction is one long con game being played out by Bridget, a woman who has left her husband (Bill Pullman) with a bag of money that he made from selling drugs. The husband owes money to people who tend to damage his thumbs whenever he can't pay so he's understandably angry. Bridget continues to plan her exit strategy, biding her time in a small town that has very little going on, but allows herself some fun with a local boy, Mike (Peter Berg). Poor Mike doesn't realise that he's about to be involved in some wild mind games as Bridget coldly lines up all of the pieces for her big play.

John Dahl is a fine director  (having also given audiences the superb Red Rock West and Joy Ride AKA Roadkill) and he does himself a few favours here by working with a superb script, by Steve Barancik, and assembling a cast all doing some of their best work. Fiorentino, especially, hasn't had any better role to sink her teeth into, but Berg is great as the small town boy who dreams of bigger things, Pullman is surprisingly good in an atypical role for him, J. T. Walsh does his usual stellar work in an all-too-brief role, and Bill Nunn does well as a detective hired to find Bridget/the money. Dean Norris also has a very small role, alongside Brien Varady, the two of them playing friends of Mike who don't waste their energy on big dreams and are just happy with small town life.

Everything comes together perfectly to make this a real treat for fans of neo-noirs. The script is chock full of great lines and exchanges, the characters are all memorable (even the more minor characters like the poor schmuck, played by Mik Scriba, who is tasked with tailing Bridget), and the lady at the centre of events is one of the best femme fatales ever. Very smart, very sexy, and as cold-hearted as they come. Which always makes things more fun in the world of noir.

9/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Seduction-Disc-Special-Edition/dp/B000F5S21E/ref=reg_hu-rd_add_1_dp