directed by Ferdinando Cito Filomarino
written by Kevin Rice, F. Filomarino
It's been a while since I've filled up this space, but having seen a movie that I had been highly anticipating for a while I felt it was finally time to check in.
Upon seeing the trailer for the thriller Beckett on Netflix I was immediately sold; I'd quite enjoyed John David Washington's performance in Spike Lee's BlackKklansman and it was clear that he would be anchoring this film as well, given that he's the title character. The film's premise of a man on the run, while not the most novel, at least looked like it was going to be presented in a different way.
The film starts with Beckett (Washington) and his girlfriend April (Alicia Vikander) vacationing in Greece, specifically Athens. When they catch wind on the news of an upcoming political rally, which threatens to be loud and disruptive, on a whim Beckett and April decide to drive up north to the countryside for some peace and quiet. Unfortunately, during the long drive, tragedy ensues, and Beckett finds himself in a police station in the middle of nowhere, recalling details of his crash to the police, including the fact that he glimpsed a red-haired boy while upside down in his wrecked SUV. To his shock, in very short order he finds himself the subject of a manhunt, with his hunters including the very police officer (Panos Koronis) to whom he told his story.
The first hour or so of the movie engaged me quite effectively, with the peril Beckett was obviously facing effectively being compounded a bit by his fish-out-of-the-water circumstances, which in this case give new meaning to the phrase "it's all Greek to me." It also helps that the hero is basically an ordinary joe; he's not a soldier or off-duty police officer or anyone who would have any special skill to survive in this situation, i.e. he isn't Jason Bourne, and he has the dad-bod to prove it. He manages to evade his would-be killers by sheer force of will and a generous helping of luck, which both Washington and Filomarino manage to sell for the first half (and a bit) of the film as Beckett struggles to make his way to the U.S. Embassy in Athens.
As soon as the third act rolls around, however, it pretty much all falls apart, from the guy whom I basically knew was a "twist" bad guy the moment he showed up on the screen, to the downright superhuman endurance that Beckett shows late in the film when, having been shot twice AND stabbed, he makes like freaking Batman and jumps from several storeys onto a moving car driving down a parking lot ramp. One wonders if this was Washington's demo reel that got him the lead in Christopher Nolan's Tenet.
In short, the film suffers from a malady that has afflicted so many Netflix films, that start out with strong narrative and characterization but end in utter farce. Fortunately, at least, Washington isn't the problem as he really throws himself into this role, but even he can't save a script this lazily written.
It's not the absolute worst way to spend two hours during the pandemic, but definitely a far, far cry from the best.
6/10
