Survivor, A Cat and Mouse thriller
The exciting thriller Survivor now on Blu-ray and DVD takes audiences on a wild ride through the streets of London. Starring Milla Jovovich as the hunted, Survivor has a good storyline, a solid well known supporting cast and able direction. While most of the film has edge of your seat action, the story may give you a hint of déjà vu if you have seen the movie SALT. That said the chase scenes in Survivor combined with Jovovich’s intensity are well worth the watch.
Newly assigned to a London, England US Embassy post as security officer, Kate Abbott (Milla Jovovich) has the best track record for spotting terrorists. Her job’s an important one for London being a gateway to the United States. On this particular day and only being on the job for a matter of hours she gets a call from a security specialist involving Dr. Emil Balan (Roger Rees) who has requested a visa. On his profile he’s listed as a person associated with combustible gas, a red flag placed on travelers since 9/11.
Kate interviews Balan and puts a hold on his visa deciding against senior security leader Bill Talbot (Robert Forster). Word gets back the Balan’s superior Pavlou (Benno Fürmann) who puts pressure on Talbot to pass Balan through. Not wanting his plan to be interrupted Pavlou sends “The Watchmaker” (Pierce Brosnan), an international hit man, to take Kate out. While being pursued, Kate starts a run for her life while trying to put the pieces together involving an international terrorist plot with the possible death of millions of people hanging in the balance.
The high fueled script movies along at a fast pace with Kate’s immediate boss Sam Parker (Dylan McDermott) taking her side. With Director James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) at the helm, the movie takes a lot of explosive twits as the suspense filled plot spools out. He makes his film exciting, intriguing and encompassing as his characters play out the thrill ride around London and across the “pond”.
Nicely filmed with some very good photography, McTeigue pushes many buttons including some explosions that are so realistic they can make you shudder. His cameras are focused on the action turning the altercations into adrenaline fueled scenes featuring his fine cast. Locations are nicely shot showing much of London’s skyline and underground adding to the vast stage available for his electrifying script.
Taking the lead, Milla Jovovich keeps her fire burning in the role of Kate. Much like the intensity she gave to the role of Alice in the Resident Evil franchise, Jovovich never lets up as she runs for her life against the evil Watchmaker. Narrowly escaping danger at every turn, her Kate pursues her enemy while trying to save millions of people who are targeted for death. She’s always been able to command her action packed roles and make her films exciting and she never quits in Survivor.
Pierce Brosnan puts on a good show as the nasty assassin Watchmaker. He may not be Bond here, but he’s as brutal and dynamic in the role of the international bomb expert and hired killer. He’s as relentless as Kate in getting his job done. The two keep the film moving at a fast pace till the very twisted ending.
BONUS FEATUES
The Blu-ray disc has a few special added features worth watching AFTER you have seen the film due to the spoilers.
“Featurette” is a 5 minute making of that incudes commentary by iconic producer Irwin Winkler, writer Phil Shelby, director James McTeigue, Milla Jovovich, Dylan McDermott and Pierce Brosnan.
“Deleted Scenes” Most of the scenes in this deleted bonus would have made the film predictable, lengthy and are unnecessary to the plot. The shower scene scheduled to be in the movie appears in one of the deleted scenes.
The Blu-ray shows extremely well on widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.40:1 for 16×9 HD home screens. It shows clear and clean with no distortion detected. The sound quality featuring Dolby True HD 5.1 fills the room and makes the explosions very realistic.
Survivor has been rated PG-13 for violence, some action and brief strong language. Be cautious when deciding to allow immature children see the film as it does have some scenes that are inappropriate and disturbing for adolescents.
FINAL ANALYSIS: An exciting film for those that love action and suspense. (B)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Milla Jovovich, Pierce Brosnan, Dylan McDermott, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, James D’Arcy, Frances de la Tour, Paddy Wallace, Roger Rees, Benno Fürmann
Director: by James McTeigue
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence, some action and brief strong language
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Running Time: 1 hr. 36 min.
Video Release Date: June 23, 2015
Language: English
Reviewed Format: Blu-ray (Also available in DVD)
Audio: Dolby True HD 5.1
Video: Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.40:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: Alchemy