'The Rhythm Section' Review—Generic and Predictable

When I was in seventh grade, I wrote a script for my drama class that was about a girl whose family was murdered by terrorists, and she decides to wreak vengeance on the people who did it to her. I called it Death Row, and it is one of the worst things I've ever written.

And now, it appears that Hollywood has hacked into my mind like the guys in Inception and stolen my idea without really improving it.

Reed Morano helms The Rhythm Section, an action drama starring Blake Lively as every revenge movie protagonist ever. This female Paul Kersey is out for blood in this very familiar movie that fails to take any risks or new directions; as a result, it does not stand out amongst others in its genre.

While Mark Burnell's script is admittedly better than what I wrote in seventh grade...I wrote it in seventh grade, and Burnell has penned a film that can provide general audiences with brief moments of entertainment but will ultimately go forgotten within a few weeks.

The sheer forgettability of this film can be primarily attributed to how bland and predictable this movie is. If you've seen a revenge movie, you will be able to predict every story beat in this film, and if you've seen a revenge movie, you've probably seen this formula executed a lot better.

Many of the scenes in this movie are quite dull. There is a lot of dialogue in this film, and these scenes have little flair in their content and direction; these scenes lack tension and instead feel like endless scenes of exposition between characters that don't feel interesting enough to care about.

When the film isn't giving us dialogue scenes or action scenes, it is giving us flashbacks that fail to make the narrative more appealing. There is only one part where a flashback ties into present-day events, but besides that, many of the flashbacks later in the film carry little purpose in advancing the story.

The details of the story are very uninteresting in the way they are given to the audience. When the film provides the audience with revelations, they lack the explanation needed for it to be shocking. Because of this, this is a very by-the-numbers revenge thriller that doesn't meet the standards of a good revenge thriller.

Given that the dialogue scenes and the flashback scenes are uninteresting, a film like this should compensate for these scenes using some good action scenes.

Admittedly, the action is where some of this movie shines; there is a long take in this film where Lively and Jude Law's characters fight, and the choreography and the way the scene is directed is awe-inspiring. There is a car chase in the film that was also in one shot, and it did a great job of putting the audience in the passenger seat of the action.

The car chase is the most exciting part of the film because of its direction, but the rest of the action scenes are a bit bland. Some are a bit too jittery, and they don't contain anything too special.

What this film lacks is a trademark; the Mission: Impossible movies are known for their insane practical stunts, the John Wick movies are known for its slick gun-fu action, and the Fast & Furious movies are known for breaking every law of physics in the book.

But while this film may not become a franchise, it fails to distinguish itself from other action films because of how simple the action is; therefore, unlike superior ongoing franchises, this film won't become known for anything.

Our main protagonist, Stephanie Patrick, is a mixed bag in terms of her character. She has a very tragic backstory, and the audience sympathizes with her. Unlike other action heroines, she does not feel like a faceless assassin due to how vulnerable and broken her character feels, which made her character more interesting.

However, besides this, her character isn't pulled in any new directions. She goes down a path familiar to every protagonist in an action movie, but without a real arc. Her training felt rushed, and she's given little opportunity to showcase her badassery.

There's a scene where Law's character, Boyd, makes her swim in a freezing ocean. This scene does not have a purpose, nor does it relate to her mission. She doesn't need to swim to accomplish her goal, and the fact that Stephanie kills almost no one in the film makes it feel as if she never brings herself closer to her goal.

Other characters in the film are very forgettable; their purpose is to move the plot forward, but they have little nuance on their own. Sterling K. Brown's character, Marc Serra, is very dull, and he has a scene where he hooks up with Stephanie, and this does not feel set up, nor does it have any purpose in the story.

Furthermore, the villains in this film do not have a frightening presence. Because Stephanie is the one going after them, they do not pose a sense of danger to her, and while Stephanie wasn't a faceless assassin, all of the antagonists were.

Lively gives an excellent performance in this film; she delivers a lot of complex emotions, and her British accent was also quite convincing. But even though talented actors such as Law and Brown round out the supporting cast, they have very little material to work with.

Overall, this movie isn't dreadful, but it isn't good either. It takes a while for the action to kick in, and once it does, many of the scenes aren't memorable. The editing can be weak, and the film's upbeat soundtrack does not always match the somber tone of this movie.

While there are a few passable action scenes and ideas throughout the film, this is a very formulaic revenge movie that fails to have a distinctive voice and ended up ruining itself with its dullness and predictability.

Final Score: The Rhythm Section — 5/10 (C-)

I have not yet seen Gretel & Hansel, but I will be watching that tomorrow. Birds of Prey comes out this Friday, and it looks good, so I'd say unless you are easily impressed or a super-fan of the genre, skip this movie.

My expectations were low, but The Rhythm Section ended up a few beats off.