Universal Pictures
With so many action films coming out, it’s important to stand out either with impressive action or offering a gripping story. Action films can feel familiar in several ways but there could be just the right amount of care and dedication in the film to make it one that stands out amongst the others. Action films can come and go if there is nothing special about them. These films often are forgotten about just a few weeks after their release. Unfortunately Simon Kinberg’s newest film, The 355, is one of those films.
Regarded as an original film, The 355 does not hold back on doubling down on the clichés. From secret weapons to characters who turn on each other, the film feels far from original. The story centers around CIA agent Mason ‘Mace’ Brown who joins forces with a rival German agent, a cutting-edge computer specialist, and a Colombian psychologist when a top-secret weapon falls into the wrong hands and threatens the safety of the world. The synopsis alone is extremely generic.
The film has a solid cast with talented actors and actresses like Jessica Chastain, Sebastian Stan, Penélope Cruz, Edgar Ramirez, Diane Kruger, Fan Bingbing, and Lupita Nyong’O. With such serious talent in the film, I was surprised with the lack of chemistry. Not one single character feels connected with another character, despite the story involving a group of women trying to save the world. Everyone feels perfectly fine with turning in an okay performance. They are aware the film isn’t trying to win awards, so it isn’t worth much effort. Chastain’s character gets most of the screen time and interacts the most with the cast. Everyone feels so distant from each other that it is hard to feel any sort of connection amongst the cast, even if some characters are involved in romantic relationships.
Kinberg is known for writing a few X-Men films and directing Dark Phoenix, arguably one of the worst X-Men films there is. He doesn’t bring any sort of flair to The 355, but instead brings some of the worst shaky cam in recent memory. Shaky action scenes are some of my least favorite moments in movies and The 355 is filled with it. When the group of women aren’t pointing their guns at people and demanding that they put their guns down, the action scenes are crafted in a way that never feels big or intense. Kinberg tries to overdo the action scenes but the cast’s involvement and lack of care makes the scenes some of the least entertaining moments in the film.
The film feels extremely cliché when it comes to the development of the story and how the characters are used. There is a lack of thrills when it comes to some big reveals, especially since a lot of it was teased in the trailer. Certain character reveals aren’t surprising since the film never tries to be original. Everything you would expect from an action film is in this movie and it’s done in a way that makes it unbearable to watch at times.
2022 isn’t starting off on a good note. I had some hope that The 355 would at least be entertaining despite a familiar premise. At least next week we get the 5th film in the Scream franchise. That should be better than this mess.
Planning to see The 355? Click below to see the movie, and be sure to come back and tell us what you thought!
The 355 has a run time of 2 hours 4 minutes and is rated Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, brief strong language, and suggestive material.
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