Dead Man Down 
Starring: Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Dominic Cooper, Terrance Howard
Directed by Niels Arden Oplev
Rated: R
Run Time: 110 mins
Genre: Drama/ Action Crime
Opens March 8th
By Lisa Minzey of The Reel Critic.com
When you see a list of credits from a director that include “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (2009 version), “Worlds Apart” and “We Shall Overcome” the expectations would be set rather high for a thrilling, intriguing film. In his latest film, Director Niels Arden Oplev takes on the arduous task of a gritty revenge thriller, “Dead Man Down” starring Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Dominic Cooper and Terrance Howard.
Over the past three months, New York crime boss Alphonse (Terrance Howard) has been receiving strange letters, threats and several of his thugs have been executed. It has been driving him insane, accusing many of those whom he deals with “professionally” and taking out those who he feels may be the threat.
What if the real threat was coming from within his organization? Fellow security members on Alphonse’s team Victor (Colin Farrell) and Darcy (Dominic Cooper) have been tasked to following leads of where the threats have be originating from hoping to find the real killer.
Meanwhile, Victor, in his personal life, is a man with a secret to hide. His neighbor Beatrice (Noomi Rapace) has developed a bit of crush on him and then on one of the worst first dates ever, black mails Victor into doing a criminal deed to hide another crime he had committed. Victor, bewildered and hell-bent on accomplishing his own agenda agrees to help and must be able to figure out a way to complete his mission of revenge along with Beatrice’s revenge plot before Alphonse’s men can figure out his real identity.
Since when did WWE start making films? This film is the only one in recent memory that a single actor kept me interested in watching the film. Colin Farrell is this film’s saving grace, he is the only appealing actor to develop. Although the film is cast with actors that can carry a heavy performance such as Noomi Rapace (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Dominic Cooper (The Devil’s Double) and Terrance Howard (Hustle and Flow) nothing can save the story from the disjointed, convoluted mess of a plot. The setting is confusing as it takes awhile to realize the story takes place in New York; the first date between Beatrice and Victor is mind boggling awful and many scenes meant to be serious come off being ridiculous and laughable. If you don’t mind a film where it will be two hours of just mindless entertainment, check out “Dead Man Down” when it opens in theaters starting Friday March 8, 2013.
