Within fifteen minutes of the film being on, you will instantly think that you are watching another Taken clone. Man with a shady past has now gone straight, doing alright for himself, and has a daughter who looks up to him (and a wife who looks like Bridget Fonda circa 1993).
The daughter gets kidnapped, so Cage enlists the help of two old buddies, who have a connection with Cages past....
This didn't bode well for me, as I am a huge Cage fan, and the last time he made a Taken clone was Stolen, which was his career low, and a blooming awful movie.
But then something happens in the film that you wouldn't expect from a standard movie in this sub-genre, and turns the film on its head.
Saying that there is nothing new on offer here is an understatement, it ticks the cliché book in all the perfunctory places, people get tortured, people get double crossed, there is a cop on Cages side, you know the drill.
But Cage puts in a very good performance, and doesn't just phone it in, as you'd expect from a movie like this, I guess Joe taught him a few lessons.
He's restraint for the majority of the movie, but if you are looking for the mad eyed Cage we all know and love from Wild At Heart, and Deadfall, you get a glimpse of him here.
Its a film that isn't going to win him any new fans, people who mock his hat instead of his performances will balk at this, but if you always look forward to seeing the actors next movie, you'll enjoy it.
The daughter gets kidnapped, so Cage enlists the help of two old buddies, who have a connection with Cages past....
This didn't bode well for me, as I am a huge Cage fan, and the last time he made a Taken clone was Stolen, which was his career low, and a blooming awful movie.
But then something happens in the film that you wouldn't expect from a standard movie in this sub-genre, and turns the film on its head.
Saying that there is nothing new on offer here is an understatement, it ticks the cliché book in all the perfunctory places, people get tortured, people get double crossed, there is a cop on Cages side, you know the drill.
But Cage puts in a very good performance, and doesn't just phone it in, as you'd expect from a movie like this, I guess Joe taught him a few lessons.
He's restraint for the majority of the movie, but if you are looking for the mad eyed Cage we all know and love from Wild At Heart, and Deadfall, you get a glimpse of him here.
Its a film that isn't going to win him any new fans, people who mock his hat instead of his performances will balk at this, but if you always look forward to seeing the actors next movie, you'll enjoy it.