Sweet Girl
review by Bobby Blakey
Jason Momoa has always had a presence about him. His free spirit and overall vibe makes him one hard not to be a fan of. Throughout his career he has proven his action chops, but even more so his acting range. I love pretty much everything Momoa, but prefer his smaller roles like Road to Paloma that feel less commercial and more personal. His latest film Sweet Girl co-starring Isabela Merced looks to be a blend of it all, but does it offer up the depth or is it just another action flick?
Sweet Girl follows a devastated husband vows to bring justice to the people responsible for his wife’s death while protecting the only family he has left, his daughter. Going into this film I would have been happy just getting to see a great action flick, but was surprised that there is much more than that here. Right out the gate it sets the tone and then slows things down to allow it to build up the emotional setting to what’s to come.
It’s pretty straight forward on its surface with a really powerful sequence with Momoa expressing pain and grief. He nails the scene made all the more powerful when you see someone with his presence so vulnerable. From there we see the relationship between himself and his daughter struggle but still strong as they deal with grief in their own way. There is actually a lot of story jam packed into a small amount of time setting it all up, but handled really well.
From there we step into what could be classified as the initial conspiracy and it kicks off the action heavy side of it all. While we have seen Mamoa bring the action before and he does so here as well, I love that they didn’t go the general invincible action star direction. He fights to survive and it’s sometimes sloppy. He takes hits and gets his butt handed to him numerous times and keeps it grounded. Even Merced gets in on the action and holds her own well.
She has a fun angle to her character as well that forces her to carry a heavy load in the film and handles it to perfection. She is a great actress and already showing
some great range in her varying roles like Dora, Sicario 2, and Instant Family. This is yet another of those different performances that is more physical than most she has done, but comes with that emotional impact necessary to make it work and she delivers.
There is a big twist that takes the film in a great direction, but one I could see how some might not like it. I for one loved it and thought it gave the film the emotional and creative direction it needed to stand out. Decide for yourself and check out Sweet Girl streaming now on Netflix.