What makes a soldier strong is the same thing that makes a strong movie about him. You need discipline, stamina, wisdom and experience. Without Remorse, Amazon Studios’ newest white-knuckle action flick, has none of these.
Any adult man reading this has almost certainly heard of Tom Clancy; his properties have spanned novels, film, TV, video games and more. With that notoriety comes pressure too because you need something to stand out from his other work, and individuality is gravely missing here.
This “thriller” is about US Navy SEAL John Kelly (Michael B. Jordan) losing his family in a home invasion after a mission. Angry, he goes to extreme lengths to get a spot on the team going for revenge against the FSB operatives who did this.
Have you heard this story before? Not only is this unoriginal for an action movie, it feels like a tired plot and motive even for a Tom Clancy story.
Action movies about action - spies, soldiers, agents, lawmen, thieves, anybody! Coming up with an action movie premise is easier than any other genre. But that also means it’s easy to make it feel so generic, and like many others, that’s the core problem in Without Remorse.
What I want is more action! The first two-thirds of the movie has less than ten minutes of action sequences that I could call out loud what would happen next. I will admit the short interrogation scene in the burning car was pretty cool.
The screenplay has a big problem in that the inciting problem of the attack on John Kelly’s house and the conflict’s setup is way too slow. The real mission being ordered for Kelly to do “without remorse” (the title of the movie, remember?) doesn’t start until we’re almost an hour into the run time.
Weirdly, co-writer Taylor Sheridan is the writer/director of next week’s big release as well (WB’s Those Who Wish Me Dead.) He’s not the only talented person who seems to be holding back: Michael B. Jordan, a phenomenal performer who knows how to command a screen, feels like he’s holding back what he really wants to say or do half the time.
This version of Without Remorse sat in development hell for more than 20 years after the source novel was written in 1993. The only thing I feel is remorseful that the movie didn’t stay there, sparing us the disappointment.
Without Remorse
4 out of 10
14A, 1hr 49mins. Action Thriller.
Directed by Stefano Sollima.
Starring Michael B. Jordan, Jodie Turner-Smith, Jamie Bell and Guy Pearce.
Now streaming on Amazon for subscribers.
