The Rhythm Section

THE GIST: When her entire family is killed in a plane crash, a woman enters a downward spiral of self-destruction. When she finds out that the crash wasn't an accident, she pulls herself together in order to take revenge on those responsible.

Apparently The Rhythm Section was supposed to represent the first chapter in a new franchise similar to the Bond or Bourne movies starring Blake Lively. Unfortunately, this might actually be the end of the line for Stephanie Patrick.

The action is rampant, the visual effects are good, the photography is gloomy enough, and the production values certainly meet expectations. Acting isn't the problem either.

Once again there is only one possible culprit left: the screenplay. I think that the main problem is that we're supposed to believe that it's plausible for Patrick to go from a junkie who can barely stand up to an unstoppable spy/vigilante who can outsmart the meanest villains in the space of about 30 minutes. Alas, that clearly doesn't work.

Certainly, they couldn't have made the movie three hours long, but there is a clear lack of a substantial origin story here for Patrick, and the film would have probably benefited from more of that.

THE BOTTOM LINE: With all the male-fronted action movies out there, a female-lead one is certainly a breath of fresh air. Lively does a good job and Jude Law is as good as always, so if you like thrillers or action movies, do give it a try, just be aware of its inherent limitations.

Grade: 5