Movie Review: Force of Nature

credit: Force of Nature

Some action movies feel rather generic with a few items and elements tossed in to make them feel a little more real and a little more popular among movie fans. Force of Nature certainly tries to add these elements since it employs actors such as Mel Gibson, Kate Bosworth, Emile Hirsch, and a few others. It also includes an incoming hurricane, which is enough to get the attention of many people who love a great disaster movie. But beyond that, it becomes little more than a heist movie that happens to take place during a hurricane and involves a few very stereotypical characters that are brought together to create a movie that is all sorts of ho-hum. It’s sad to say such a thing since Gibson has been such a great action star over the years, but this type of movie makes it easy to think that his reputation still hasn’t recovered fully. The idea of a heist taking place during a hurricane isn’t the worst, but at the same time, it could have been given a little more prep work. 

credit: Force of Nature

The feel of this movie is that much of the dialogue was kind of strained. 

From the start, this movie was something that one couldn’t help but think was going to be a tough sell to a lot of people, even with Mel Gibson as part of the cast. It does feel as though he was more of a supporting character, which is likely the case, and thereby not quite as important. Yet, for all that, he ends up stealing the show since he is the most well-known actor in this movie and, as such, is the guy that a lot of audience members are going to be looking for since he has the best reputation among them.  When it comes to a heist movie, this is simple enough to follow since John the Baptist, a renowned thief is out to steal a valuable painting that is being kept by an old man in an apartment complex that is in the path of the oncoming hurricane. 

The story is as one might expect. 

The steps of this story are easy to point out as it goes along, and that could be why it’s not the type of movie that’s being touted as one of the best of its genre. It feels like a movie that was made and then filed away to be found later by those that feel the need for a quick bit of entertainment that might not be remembered the day after. From the moment the heist is started to the moment that Gibson’s character shows that while he’s old but not infirm, the movie is one of those that makes a person feel that the actors didn’t really put everything they had into this one. People can argue all they want about this matter, but the problem is that there was little to no mention of this movie, there wasn’t a lot of hype that led up to it, and the feeling is that it was a throwaway movie to keep everyone working and keep the money rolling in. 

credit: Force of Nature

The movie doesn’t really live up to its name. 

The interesting thing about this movie is that it did manage to pull a few actors that have been known for putting up stellar performances in the past, since Hirsch, Gibson, and Bosworth have all managed to create characters that, in the past, people have fully enjoyed and come to appreciate. That wasn’t the case with this movie since each character is likely to be forgotten, while Gibson’s is more akin to many of his other roles that he’s taken on over the years. The idea of turning him into a grizzled old retired police officer was a nice touch, but at the same time, it wasn’t something that was bound to surprise anyone since he’s either been an outlaw or law enforcement agent throughout much of his career. It’s a role he knows how to play, and it’s a role that he’s done well with in more than one movie, but it’s also a role that people definitely expect him to play. 

When all is said and done, this movie is a bit of a disappointment. 

There’s action in this movie, and there is a plot to be followed, but at the same time, it feels as though someone forgot to add enough excitement into the movie, along with enough sense to make certain that it was worth watching. Taking the time to understand the story and get into the characters is worth the time spent, but at the end of the day, this premise was a little too thin to really keep the interest that it was made to create. 

Not all action movies are created equal.