Beckett (2021) Movie Review

“Beckett” is a film that aspires to be a tense, paranoid thriller in the vein of classic 1970s films like “The Parallax View” and “Three Days of the Condor”. However, it fails to live up to this ambition, instead delivering an uninspiring and unengaging story about an American tourist named Beckett, played by John David Washington, who finds himself in a dangerous situation in Greece after a car accident kills his girlfriend and leaves him injured. The film's attempt to combine international politics, corrupt government officials, kidnapping, and last-minute heroics falls flat, resulting in a forgettable movie experience.

The film opens with Beckett and his girlfriend April, played by Alicia Vikander, touring remote parts of Greece after being warned about a protest outside their Athens hotel. However, their onscreen chemistry is lackluster, and their conversations are mundane and uninteresting. When Beckett falls asleep at the wheel and crashes, killing April and injuring himself, the film finally kicks into thriller mode. Beckett thinks he sees a woman and a preteen girl when he tries to escape his vehicle, but they disappear suddenly, leaving him unsure of what he saw. As the police start investigating the accident, the situation becomes dangerous, and Beckett finds himself on the run.

One of the film's strengths is the language barrier issues that Beckett faces as he tries to navigate a country where he doesn't speak the language. The lack of translation builds suspense and leaves viewers feeling as helpless as Beckett. However, the film's attempts to incorporate a political plotline around the protest march under the Athens hotel fall flat, with the connection to the film's central conflict feeling forced and uninteresting.

As Beckett navigates the dangerous situation he finds himself in, he teams up briefly with two activists, Eleni and Lena, played by Maria Votti and Vicky Krieps, respectively. However, the film's violence quickly overtakes any potential character development, with Beckett enduring numerous beatings, falls, stabbings, and shootings throughout the movie. While some of these scenes are entertaining, they often feel half-hearted and lack emotional resonance.

The film's biggest weakness is its titular character, Beckett. Despite enduring a seemingly endless amount of violence and danger, he remains an enigma throughout the film, with his character development feeling nonexistent. John David Washington's portrayal of Beckett is forgettable, lacking the charisma and danger that he has exhibited in other roles, such as in “BlacKkKlansman”. It becomes challenging to care about whether Beckett will survive his ordeal when he is such a dull and uninteresting character.

In conclusion, “Beckett” tries to be a tense and engaging thriller, but it ultimately falls short. While the language barrier issues and some of the violent scenes are entertaining, the film's lack of emotional resonance and uninteresting plotline make it a forgettable movie experience. If you are looking for a classic 1970s paranoid thriller, there are better options available, such as “The Parallax View” and “Three Days of the Condor”. While “Beckett” may be worth a watch if it's available on Netflix, it's not worth paying to see in a theater. Ultimately, you'll likely be left feeling underwhelmed and tempted to see what else is available.