The Gist:
Paul Maguire (Cage) is a successful businessman with a dark past. On a stormy night while out, his daughter is kidnapped by three masked assailants. The police led by Danny Glover have no leads so Maguire up his old crew Kane (Max Ryan) and Danny (Michael McGrady) in order to find her.
The Review:
I’m not sure what to think about Tokarev or Rage as it is known in some countries. It takes the best elements of the 70’s and 80’s action classics such as Death Wish and The French Connection but somewhere along the line it falls flat. So how could it have gone wrong?
For the most part it’s the script or more like the dialogue. Characters who have known each other for years keep referring to one another by name in order not to forget. Nearly everyone has a back-story which grinds the film (the pace is slow already) to a halt. I am fully behind fleshing out your characters but come on, not everyone needs a monologue, moving pictures tell just a good enough story.
So is it all that bad? Not exactly. The better scenes are when Cage is at his most distraught. He’s believable as an ex violent man ready to explode at any minute. And when he does, Cage is on fire as he explodes into the wide eyed maniacal Cage we all know and love. Seriously I’m coming to believe that it’s in his contract somewhere.
In my opinion the better moments are when he and his buddies Kane and Danny are interrogating and torturing people to get info. Personally I would have preferred the film have less action and exposition and focused more on Cage and his crew. There’s a rich back-story there and I would have loved to have seen more of it. Sadly we’re given at least ten characters with at least five minutes of screen time pop up and disappear without a trace.
On the upside, there’s also some nice artistic flourishes here and there. The action scenes are shot in slow motion that would make Zack Snyder himself weep with jealousy. Well executed flashbacks about Paul’s past pop in every now and then which are a few of the film’s saving grace. Peter Stormare and Danny Glover though are underused as Cage’s mafia boss who lets us know why he’s in a wheelchair with a monologue, and as the cop who will stop at nothing in finding Paul’s daughter respectively. How do we know he will stop at nothing? Guess. Then there’s the ending which caught me so off guard I awarded the film an extra star. No spoilers here but it will make you think about violence and its payoff. It’s just a shame the rest of the movie doesn’t quite grip you as it should.
Final Verdict:
Tokarev had a lot of potential to be the next Death Wish or even Taken but due to its low budget the overall film has a certain TV quality to it. Themes of revenge and violence bringing more violence are there but are overshadowed by weak scriptwriting. As for Cage, he does a fine job with what he’s given.
Certificate: 15
Director: Paco Cabezas
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Rachel Nichols, Peter Stormare, Danny Glover, Max Ryan, Michael McGrady, Judd Lormand, Max Fowler
Running Time: 94 minutes
Release Date: 29th August 2014
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