Review: Kill Chain


Nic Cage is a crummy hotel owner in Columbia who gets involved with sultry red-clad Annabelle Acosta, who comes armed with a whole lotta diamonds. Also entangled in this story are an aging sniper (Enrico Colantoni, of all people) with daughter issues, a couple of assassins (one played by Alimi Ballard), a corrupt cop (Ryan Kwanten), and other assorted seedy characters.

 

Neither the best nor worst of Nic Cage’s recent vehicles, this 2020 film from writer-director Ken Sanzel (writer of the average “The Replacement Killers”) benefits from a good performance by Enrico Colantoni (cast rather against type). Whenever he’s off-screen, the film is far less interesting. Sadly, that’s more often than not. It starts well, but it goes nowhere just around the time Cage’s character finally comes to the fore. He gives a mumbly, pay check performance that suggests little if any investment (strange given he’s one of a billion producers). Former soap actor Ryan Kwanten is his usual dull self, and poor Alimi Ballard just doesn’t get enough screen time. Annabelle Acosta isn’t bad, but aside from her and some of the action (nice bit set in and around a police car) there’s not much to crow about here.

 

The film is also clunky and disjointed, not staying with any character long enough to come together cohesively or give anyone much to work with. At times it plays like a poor “Hotel Artemis”, actually. There is one rather clever bit towards the end where someone gets outsmarted in a pretty interesting way, but that’s about it.

 

A good Enrico Colantoni performance and an occasionally good action scene in a clunky film of otherwise little interest.

 

Rating: C-

 

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