Film review: Survivor (7 out of 10)

Pierce Brosnan was one of my favourite Bonds - he could clearly act and he gave the spy and gentler more human edge.
Pierce Brosnan in Survivor.Pierce Brosnan in Survivor.
Pierce Brosnan in Survivor.

Much water has flowed under the bridge since those days and he’s been cast in a variety of roles.

However, he makes a darn good villain.

In this film he’s a top-grade hitman - the Watchmaker - who is called in to bump off an American Foreign Service Officer in London who has stumbled on a conspiracy.

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Milla Jovovich is the officer in question, Kate Abbott, who finds herself in the frame for various deaths and terrorist activities.

Director James McTeigue is known for V for Vendetta and a couple of the Matrix movies, so he’s no stranger to action films.

And there’s plenty of it, with bombs, shootings and general rushing about.

Jovovich, the star of my guilty pleasure, the Resident Evil series of films, does a decent enough job.

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It’s a good role for a woman, which is something of a novelty in itself. And thankfully she plays a normal person, not someone who suddenly transforms into an expert martial arts fighter or sharpshooter.

There’s some good support from Dylan McDermott as Abbott’s co-worker and Frances De La Tour, sporting an interesting American accent.

But to be honest it’s really Brosnan’s film. The facial tics when he’s annoyed are excellent and his body language just oozes menace.

Some of the dialogue could have done with tightening up and the US flag-waving’s a bit OTT.

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However, it’s a decent enough thriller that doesn’t outstay its welcome.

Film details: Danny Collins (12A) 96mins

Director: James McTeigue

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Pierce Brosnan

Screening courtesy of Horsham Capitol