One of the biggest surprises from 2016 was the thriller movie Don’t Breathe. I mean, let’s be honest, anything that involves Stephen Lang, I’ll watch. The guy is just an expert at playing the scariest and roughest tough guys you’ll ever see in movies. In fact, was anyone else severely disappointed that he didn’t play Cable in Deadpool 2? So was I, but then I saw the movie and realized Josh Brolin was perfect for the role. Then again, when is Josh Brolin isn’t awesome? Yeah, talk about that horrendous Oldboy remake, but at least he was cool in it. You know an actor is good when he’s still cool in a very bad movie. The same can be said for Stephen Lang.
For instance, many people would consider Avatar to be an incredibly overrated movie, but who’s going to say that Stephen Lang was bad in it. James Cameron got the perfect actor to play the perfect villain role for that movie. Again, the guy is just an expert at playing the badass tough guys, so if he’s in it, I’ll watch it. And let’s not forget, he played an expert martial artist in Into the Badlands… who was also a cripple and confined to a wheelchair. That’s awesome and fitting for him, but to be fair, Into the Badlands is a typical, over-the-top Kung Fu show. His presence just added to the fun, even if he was in a wheelchair.
So when a trailer dropped for a little thriller film called Don’t Breathe several years ago, I was instantly hooked. Stephen Lang’s presence automatically grabbed my attention, but what I saw in the trailer was unlike anything he has ever played. Stephen Lang was the bad guy, which was no surprise, but really caught me off guard was one unique feature about his character: he was a blind man. However, him being blind didn’t make him useless. When a small group of delinquents broke into his house and attempted to steal money from his safe, the seemingly defenseless blind man quickly showed them that they bit off more than they could chew. What was supposed to be an easy burglary quickly turned into a nightmare for the young thieves.
Don’t Breathe surely lived up to its title. What was so unique about it was that the main antagonist was a man with a handicap. A bit of a spoiler alert if you haven’t seen it, but the blind man was once a soldier who lost his eyesight when a grenade went off near his face. That’s at least what was implied, but it made sense and it explained why he was able to defend himself. It also explained why he was able to outsmart and outwit the young delinquents. He knew how to handle weapons, make a strategy and lure the thieves into traps, and most of all, he knew how to use his other senses. Basically, Don’t Breathe gives us a version of Daredevil if he went bad.
Now while Stephen Lang’s character was actually the villain, he was also sympathetic. The young delinquent thieves break into his house for his money, but they discover something far more sinister when they find themselves trying to escape. Another kind-of small spoiler alert, but it has something to do with his deceased daughter. The blind man has understandable motivations, but of course, he is severely misguided in his attempts to make things right again. That is where this unique character becomes intriguing, but by the end of Don’t Breathe, he does actually survive.
What happens to him afterwards? Well, I didn’t really think about it, because I honestly felt that his story could’ve ended there. After all, he wasn’t really the main character and he was the villain of the story. Don’t Breathe is one of those movies that I just didn’t think needed a sequel. And I actually never thought the sequel was going to be made, but sure enough, it’s indeed happening. As of now, the trailer for Don’t Breathe 2 is available to watch, but there’s something unexpected about it. Stephen Lang’s character, the blind man, is apparently no longer the villain. From the looks of the trailer, it seems that he’s the main protagonist this time around, or at least an anti-hero figure.
The blind man is now living in isolation and is taking care of a young girl. If you’ve seen the first one, you’ll probably guess the young girl is supposed to resemble is deceased daughter. This is something we’ve seen before, if the main character loses a child and wants a surrogate to replace that child, they will search for one. It’s an understandable motivation for tragic characters, but Don’t Breathe 2 is taking things a step further. Again, the blind man makes full use of his other senses and he even knows how to apply that to combat situations. He’s not only a more devious version of Daredevil, but a slightly more realistic version as well.
The trailer has it all. The blind man is using his other heightened senses and military background to outwit and outmaneuver his enemies. This time around, he’s not fighting threw young delinquent thieves. The enemies of Don’t Breathe 2 are a group of thugs who kidnap the young girl he’s looking after. Of course, we don’t know why, but the trailer implies that the criminals are familiar with the blind man and his background. This can prove to be an interesting story, especially for the blind man. Will he find redemption for his past sins? Maybe his encounter with the delinquents from the first Don’t Breathe changed him? Better yet, who is the young girl really? All interesting questions, but I’m just interested to see how the blind man’s story will play out.
As I said, I really dig his character. He was a sympathetic villain in the first movie, but Don’t Breathe 2 is apparently turning him into the hero. From the looks of the trailer, it seems to be a redemption story, which I always like seeing. If you haven’t checked out the trailer for Don’t Breathe 2, go watch it. The movie will be released on August 13, so we don’t have to wait long. I’m very excited.
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