The idea of a “killer with a heart” is a movie trope that has been done countless times. Whether it’s a futuristic sci-fi adventure like Looper or a neo-noir action thriller like John Wickkillers pondering the duality of man and struggling with their past lives is a successful story when done well. Boon is the latest addition to the genre with mixed results.
Directed by Derek Presley (Whitetails), Boon stars Neal McDonough as Nick Boon, a mercenary with a ruthless past who works for a criminal organization. This film marks McDonough’s second appearance as the title character after his first outing in 2021. Red stone.
On the run from hitmen and a nosy federal agent, Boon hides out in the Pacific Northwest, where he eventually meets a widowed pastor, Catherine, played by Christiane Seidel (The Queen’s Gambit), and her teenage son. Catherine is at the mercy of the local crime kingpin, Mr. Fitzgerald, whom she plays Sons of Anarchy alum Tommy Flanagan, who runs his illegal businesses on her land. When Catherine and her son clash with Fitzgerald and his mercenaries, Boon must decide whether to stay silent or step in and risk the consequences at the hands of a terrifying and violent crime boss.
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The action is overwhelming
The neo-western film immediately establishes Boon as a highly skilled and intelligent gunslinger as he confronts the killer after a standoff on the highway. McDonough, who also serves as a co-writer and producer, is no stranger to playing the bad guy, as the veteran character actor has been the villain on shows like Yellowstone, Arrow, and Justified. This time McDonough plays a complicated anti-hero, who despite being a religious man, tries to justify his violent actions when protecting a mother and her young son.
Furthermore, Boon is more interested in staging action sequences than in developing and grooming other secondary characters, especially the main villain. On the one hand, Fitzgerald is set up as a powerful antagonist who strikes fear into the hearts of the townspeople. However, his character is based on reputation and a few mean speeches. Not once does he try to do physical violence on someone himself, let alone pick up a weapon. Suspension of disbelief is not an option when details like these are missing from the script.
Official trailer for BOON (2022)
Pacing problems
For a 95-minute action film, the pace is very lethargic, especially after the opening fire. The driving force behind Boon’s decision to stay in town is to protect Catherine and her son. However, Catherine hides the reason why she obeys Fitzgerald and his daughter-in-law, Emilia (Christina Ochoa from animal Kingdom), more than half of the film. When she finally tells Boon the truth about her past, the revelation is pretty devastating because of how long it took to get there.
Eventually, the film comes to its inevitable showdown between Boon and Fitzgerald. Strangely, Fitzgerald isn’t even present at this climactic moment, which is a puzzling decision in itself. In addition, the forced storyline with the FBI agent, played by Demetrius Grosse, he becomes an integral part of the plot despite spending little time with the character throughout the film.
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Disappointing payoff
The film’s true villain, Emilia, and her henchmen head to Catherine’s estate for an action-packed shootout in the third act. The ending is predictable, and the final moments decide to set up a future adventure for Boon, rather than a final ending. The mid-credits scene tries to resolve the ending, but it’s an unsatisfying payoff that deserves an entire scene instead of a 30-second clip.
Despite McDonough’s endearingly stoic performance and some decent fight scenes, BoonThe pacing and character development issues are too great to be truly entertaining even at the B-movie level.
Boon will be released in theaters, on demand and digitally on April 1, 2022.
Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn