... The whole point of movies that are largely set in prison is invariably to find some way of conveying the soul-crushing mundanity that comes with facing a long spell in chokey. That Mackinnon manages this ably is both a testament to him, and a little wearying on the poor old viewer, at the same time! Of course, our protagonist is too focused on exacting retribution, than knuckling down and copping for 'good behaviour'; and this is a detail that mercifully there is not much attempt to hide from us.
Something should have been done to enliven the sequences of one escape attempt after another - but it was the knowledge that there would eventually be a 'payoff', that kept me on the edge of my seat, even as I was silently pleading with the screen to get a move on. Miller does 'stoic' impressively enough in the lead to get us firmly on his side; and it was good to see Andy Serkis 'twisted visage' again put to effective use - no C.G. hogging the limelight, this time!
Scores of revenge flicks might pose more intriguing dilemmas for the watcher to mull over. If we are basic enough to leave the layered dissection of texts out of this, though; the ones that have the most impact are those evocative enough to tap into primal urges, and get us REALLY hating the villain. Looking back, I feel it was this factor that was 'key', in making me rate the film as high as I did.
The ultimate comeuppance is only what is deserved, and so everyone manages to pull off the neat trick of scooting away leaving the audience satisfied; despite making little actual effort to muddy the moral waters, some.
'Escape', indeed; but the committed portrayals afford it just enough of a head-start to make it a decent bet, before the hounds are released... !
Something should have been done to enliven the sequences of one escape attempt after another - but it was the knowledge that there would eventually be a 'payoff', that kept me on the edge of my seat, even as I was silently pleading with the screen to get a move on. Miller does 'stoic' impressively enough in the lead to get us firmly on his side; and it was good to see Andy Serkis 'twisted visage' again put to effective use - no C.G. hogging the limelight, this time!
Scores of revenge flicks might pose more intriguing dilemmas for the watcher to mull over. If we are basic enough to leave the layered dissection of texts out of this, though; the ones that have the most impact are those evocative enough to tap into primal urges, and get us REALLY hating the villain. Looking back, I feel it was this factor that was 'key', in making me rate the film as high as I did.
The ultimate comeuppance is only what is deserved, and so everyone manages to pull off the neat trick of scooting away leaving the audience satisfied; despite making little actual effort to muddy the moral waters, some.
'Escape', indeed; but the committed portrayals afford it just enough of a head-start to make it a decent bet, before the hounds are released... !