Barrett Brief Movie Review- Those That Wish Me Dead Should Slow Down

Barrett Brief Movie Review – Those That Wish Me Dead Should Slow Down

Summary: A teenage murder witness finds himself pursued by twin assassins in the Montana wilderness with a survival expert tasked with protecting him — and a forest fire threatening to consume them all.

Genre:  Action, Drama, Thriller

Taylor Sheridan, the man has been behind 3 of the best films of the last 20 years (Sicario, Hell or High Water and Wind River) is one of the few creative talents left in Hollyweird. His ability to tell stories about the pockets of America that are left behind by mainstream studios. From the Mexican border to an Indian reservation to the rolling plains of the midwest, he tells stories about the people of these lands in a respectful and honest manner. So when his latest film, Those That Wish Me Dead appeared in the HBO Max queue, I was eager to see what was next. Unfortunately, much like with Sicario: Day of the Soldado, I come away with nothing more than a feeling of meh. Those That Wants Me Dead truly wants to send a message of facing fears and the strength of those still on the frontier, but the adaptation of the book doesn’t hit the mark.

A Taylor Sheridan film that isn’t

The movies written by Sheridan have a distinct feel about them. A grittiness, realism that really helps to get you to invest in the characters that you are seeing on screen. That comes from his writing, which is some of the best out there. Those That Wish Me Dead is based on the book of the same title by Michael Koryta. While it may be a great book, and the subject matter seems to be right up the alley of Sheridan, it just doesn’t click. The film clocks in at 100 minutes and yet it feels underdeveloped, which is the biggest issue when adapting a book to the screen. Sections of character work are left behind in favor of pacing. All the hallmarks of Sheridan films are there, but it feels like the studio brought him in and told “Do your thing” to cover up the rest of the problems of the film, the primary one being the lead actor: Angelina Jolie

 The Cast

Before you roast me in the comment section, she isn’t bad. She isn’t great, but I feel she is the only one miscast. Yes, she has played action roles in the past, and yes she has played dramatic roles as well. However, she doesn’t fit. I can’t see her in this role. The question of “Who would you cast instead?” is a great one, and I am struggling as of the writing of this review to give you an acceptable replacement. She does not have that midwestern, salt of the earth vibe that this role needs. As for the rest of the cast, Finn Little (Connor) was better than I though he would be, some of his delivery is off, but he carried the scenes that he needed to so good for him.  Jon Bernthal (Ethan) never disappoints and he delivers another good performance. The hitman Aidan Gillen (Jack) & Nicholas Hoult (Patrick) actually have a well fleshed out relationship that at least brought some life into the stereotypical “bad guy” types. Finally Medina Senghore (Allison), we will talk about her later.

Plot & Pacing

The plot moves swiftly and the pace doesn’t linger. As stated before, while it was not boring I do feel that we could have done better with maybe an additional 10 minutes of character development across the board. Plot wise, it hits the beats, but doesn’t allow you to get invested.

One additional thing. Allison’s plot was the thing that took me out of this movie. Now some will say it’s because I am racist and I object to the interracial marriage. Nope, that isn’t it. It isn’t the very well done scene in the cabin where she first meets the two hitmen. It’s ********SPOILER WARNING******* When she, as a six month pregnant woman, mounts a horse and tracks down and kills a highly trained hitman in a close quarters shoot out. I know they set it up by having him severely injured, but really?

Technical notes

Sheridan brings his classic shots to the film. These shots that let you soak in the land and the events as they take place. New Mexico stands in for Montana and it looks beautiful.

Overall

Those That Wish Me Dead truly wants to send a message of facing fears and the strength of those still on the frontier, but the adaptation of the book doesn’t hit the mark. Jolie is not the right fit and that didn’t allow me to really invest in the story they were trying to tell. Again, a pregnant women on horseback beats a highly trained hitman at close quarters…nah.

Score:

2 out of 4 briefcases

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The CRUSADE Channel, The Last LIVE! Radio Station Standing begins our LIVE programming with our all original CRUSADE Channel News hosted by 28 year radio ace, Stacey Cohen. Coupled with Mike “The King Dude” Church entertaining you during your morning drive and Rick Barrett giving you the news of the day and the narrative that will follow during your lunch break!

We’ve interviewed over 200 guests, seen Brother Andre Marie notch his 200th broadcast of Reconquest; the The Mike Church Show over 900 episodes; launched an original LIVE! News Service; written and produced 4 Feature Length original dramas including The Last Confession of Sherlock Holmes and set sail on the coolest radio product ever, the 5 Minute Mysteries series! We are the ONLY outlet to cover the Impeachment of President Trump from gavel to gavel! 

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