The Rhythm Section review by Bobby Blakey
There have been a lot of revenge thrillers as of late featuring strong female leads. This have the potential to be great and some have knocked it out of the park while others fell short. The latest, The Rhythm Section features a great cast including Blake Lively, Jude Law and Sterling K. Brown. Could this be one that brings the suspense and vengeance or will it fail to find its proper revenge?
The Rhythm Section follows a woman on a path of self-destruction after her family is tragically killed in a plane crash. When she discovers the wreck was no accident, Stephanie enters the dark, complex world of international espionage seeking vengeance. Her search leads to Iain Boyd (Jude Law), a former MI6 agent who trains her to hunt down those responsible. With nothing left to lose, Stephanie transforms from victim to assassin and discovers that neither revenge nor the truth are what they appear.
You never really know what direction these movies are going to go. Some go full on action and others play up more of the mystery of it all. This one brings a little bit of action that more offers up late in the film, but mostly takes the viewer on a series of twists and turns to solve the truth behind what happened. This offers up a slow paced film that might not work for some, but I rather enjoyed that it took its time. One of the things that usually go horribly wrong is the sudden ability to go from no skills to bad ass with little training, but here they spend time with this to make something more believable.
The film opens setting it all up per usual showcasing a woman who not only has lost everything but taken a dark path in life. Lively does such a good job in the role bringing so many layers of emotions and anguish to the role. Once we move past the set up and get into the longest portion of the film of getting her on her path and training is where it worked best for me. Gone is the
typical straight up montage and in its place a realistic series of trials and ultimate failures to try and get her in a place that is at least adequate. My favorite being a moment that is also teaching how to deal with a car chase which we rarely see focused on unless it’s the real deal.
Once we get past this moment we have a more confidant character in Lively, but still a damaged person that struggles to the very end as she finds her truth and empowerment. I liked the direction the film went and how they handled the characters journey way more than I thought I might especially with less action. The action that is here isn’t overly exciting or stand out, but instead a more real life approach to keep it all grounded.
This is a film that won’t work for everyone mostly due to the pacing, but I enjoyed the way it was handled and overall finished product. Decide for yourself and grab your copy of The Rhythm Section available now on Digital, Blu-ray and DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment.