[yasr_overall_rating]
When his fiancée is kidnapped by human traffickers, Roman and his ex-military brothers set out to track her down and save her before it is too late. Along the way, Roman teams up with Avery, a cop investigating human trafficking and fighting the corrupted bureaucracy that has harmful intentions.
Recently, Bruce Willis has made some terrible straight to VOD movies and “Acts of Violence” is no exception. The movie is all over the place and the tone is confusing. It’s part hard-boiled detective drama, a critique of war veterans treatments, and the toll of human trafficking. The story opens on war vet Deklan, played by Cole Hauser. He’s having issues with his PTSD and his doctor won’t help due to bureaucracy and other setbacks of America’s abysmal healthcare system. He’s forced into action when his sister is abducted from her bachelorette party and the cops can’t help. Willis is mainly shown in offices trying to investigate the case with his superiors ignoring his pleas for help.
The direction is super clunky, way too many cuts during fight scenes, and Willis looks like he just got out of bed to shoot this. In one strange scene, Willis’ character calls a mother to tell her of her daughter’s death, who does that? Every other cop movie or show would have the cop show up in person, hat-in-hand to deliver such horrible news. The supporting cast of siblings and their spouses are extremely thin and lacking any serious dramatic depth. In another unintentionally comical scene, Deklan trains a friend with zero combat experience in a rushed incredulous montage.
The ADR is sloppy and other technical aspects were very frustrating. The director thinks rapid zoom-ins and constant hand-held camera movements convey thrilling drama, he’s wrong. Also, the human traffickers have a terrible business model and have the unique problem of their drugs being too pure. At 1 hour and 26 minutes, this movie still felt way too long.
Available on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital HD March 27th from Lionsgate
