R | 1h 41m | Drama, Action, Espionage, Thriller | 2024
Starting her career in the 1990s playing ingénues in British art films and period pieces, actress Kate Beckinsale made the transition to mainstream flicks in 2003 as the lead protagonist character Selene in the horror/action drama “Underworld.” This was the first of a six-installment franchise that eventually petered out in 2016.
Along the way, Beckinsale (the daughter of acting parents Richard Beckinsale and Judy Loe) appeared in mostly forgettable romcoms and the occasional prestige project. She appeared as actress Ava Gardner in Martin Scorsese’s Howard Hughes bio-flick “The Aviator,” but for the most part, her career has stalled.
Not to be confused with the similarly titled comic book “Black Canary,” French director Pierre Morel’s new action thriller “Canary Black” could have been Beckinsale’s career-salvaging lifeboat.
Not Her Fault
It “could have” but doesn’t for a multitude reasons, not the least of which is its overwhelming predictability and been-there-done-that sameness. It’s not all Beckinsale’s fault. Apart from her constant straining to maintain a convincing American accent, she does everything she’s called on to do, however implausible that might be.As for the plot, see if this sounds familiar.
The civilian husband (Rupert Friend as David) of a covert CIA agent (Avery, played by Beckinsale) is kidnapped by a rogue terrorist organization led by Breznov (Goran Kostic). The agent goes off the reservation to meet the terrorist’s demands of locating a software program called “Canary Black,” which contains incriminating, blackmail-worthy details of every government employee in the world.
Bulletproof
For over half of the running time, Avery takes down dozens of well-trained, much larger men with an assortment of martial arts moves that would shame Bruce Lee. She never gets so much as a scratch while ducking thousands of rounds of automatic weapons fire. For some odd reason, the costume designers had Beckinsale wear high-heeled boots for the duration.If any or all of this reminds you of what happened in the 2008 Liam Neeson smash hit “Taken” that’s because it’s just a slightly different take on the same story. Morel also directed “Taken.”
Realizing he’d stumbled upon a winning formula, Morel followed “Taken” with “From Paris with Love” (2010), “The Gunman” (2015), and “Peppermint” (2018), which all use the same basic blueprint. Morel’s stab at comedy, “Freelance” (2023), strayed a bit too far from the formula and died a quick death at the box office.
R.I.P. Ray
The film’s sole interesting relationship is that between Avery and Jarvis Hedlund (Ray Stevenson), her direct supervisor also stationed in Zagreb, Croatia. Working together since “Kandahar” (whatever that means), the pair have no secrets and doggedly watch each other’s backs. Sadly, Jarvis was Stevenson’s penultimate role as he passed away in May 2023 at the far-too-young age of 58.
For the first hour, the filmmakers strain to do anything original. The only time they get close is laughable. Supposedly, the Canary Black software has been hidden in the tooth (that’s right, the tooth) of a captured Croatian prisoner, yet this proves to be a time-wasting canard.
Third Act Reveals
The third act delivers two admittedly good plot twists, one being the real content of the “Canary Black” program. The other is the revealing of the identity of a mystery assassin known only as “Kali.”This portion includes the sole scene featuring actress Saffron Burrows whose character seems present for the sole purpose of suggesting the possibility of a sequel, which will likely happen.
At various points, Avery displays some of the physical attributes and action skills of Charlize Theron in “Atomic Blonde,” and Uma Thurman in the “Kill Bill” movies. Had the filmmakers fleshed out these ideas, “Canary Black” might have had a fighting chance of doing something special. Giving us a female version of “Taken” is nothing special.
