Beckman
review by Bobby Blakey
I love a good action movie and like all genres there are tons of them that get the straight to home entertainment route. Some are good, some are bad and some float around in that middle ground as just existing. The latest trying to find its place in it all is Beckman starring David A. R. White, William Baldwin, Burt Young and Jeff Fahey, but does it have the skills to take the action to that next level or will it fail to find its vengeance?
Beckman follows Aron Beckman who is finished with a life lived in the shadows as a cruel gun for hire. Now, his soul cries out for healing, peace, forgiveness, and grace. In desperation, he appeals to the church and is welcomed by an ailing pastor like a long-lost son. However, his journey towards salvation is cut short when his adopted daughter is kidnapped by a deranged cult leader named Reese. Blinded by rage, Beckman sets off on a dangerous rescue mission and is forced to revert back to his old violent ways. The only thing that may be able to stop Beckman’s rampage is his faith – but will he remember it in time to save his soul?
I knew nothing about this film going in other than it had some pretty cool people in it. I don’t know a lot about star David A.R. White but he has had a pretty big career already with films such as both the God’s Not Dead and Revelation Road franchises so was interested to see how he carried this part. He is the lead to this film with Baldwin playing the big bad and he does a decent job. Sadly Burt Young and Jeff Fahey are both more cameo type roles, but both decent parts that feed the story moving forward.
The story isn’t anything you haven’t seen before and in fact kind of plays out as kind of generic which isn’t always a bad thing. This lets them do their own thing and connect with a wide range of audience’s, but does make it lose that edge it could have had. There is plenty of action here, but with the mix of some CGI and by the numbers fighting it failed to really stand out like it could have. This could be a budget thing and it doesn’t come off as bad just was hoping for more in the context of this story.
There are some weird directions that felt out of place in the story, editing and most notably where they took Baldwin’s character. It just felt like we suddenly stepped into a completely different film and the climax left me unsatisfied and a cliffhanger of sorts with the clear hope to make another entry into this story. This is one of those films that is worth watching, but not wholly memorable. It fails to separate itself from the overcrowded genre and instead is firmly planted in the middle in hopes to be discovered.
If you like action flicks then give it a try and decide for yourself and check out Beckman available now on Digital and DVD from Universal Home Entertainment.