Friday, May 19, 2017

Movie review: Reclaim

 
Unable to have their own children, a couple travels to Puerto Rico in hopes of adopting a Haitian orphan. Instead they fall victim to scam artists and must put their own lives at risk to save their new daughter.

John Cusack (Benjamin), Ryan Phillippe (Steven), Rachelle Lefevre (Shannon), Jacki Weaver (Reigert), Luis Guzman (Superintendent), Briana Roy (Nina), Jandres Burgos (Salo), Veronica Foo (Paola).

Reclaim is essentially the horror story we have all heard about human trafficking and foreign adoption scams. The film starts well with some setup and character introductions before smoothly rolling out the main story. Drama, tension, and action are blended in nicely, giving the story some depth and drawing audience attention. With a nice twist or two, the film finishes with the Happy Ever After ending we pretty much expect from the opening credits.

Acting was decent with Cusack delivering his usual, which honestly is starting to feel a bit flat with his direct to DVD releases lately. Phillippe delivered well and his skills continue to mature. Lefevre was enjoyable and seemed to work well with Phillippe. Guzman, Roy, Weaver and the remainder of the cast were fairly solid.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are good with nice use of natural scenery both as sets and backgrounds. Action scenes were decent and fit the film well. Dialogue had good depth and focus. Sound and soundtrack were good.

Overall this was a decent action thriller, despite nobody knowing how to break a zip-tie or find the escape latch in a car trunk. Fans of crime thrillers should enjoy this one.

Some foul language, violence, a bit of blood, and some news footage of dead bodies after an earthquake but, this should be fine for older teens and above.

Released: 2014
Reviewed: 4.27.17
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Action Thriller, Crime Action & Adventure, Action, Adventure, Crime Thriller

copyright ©2017 Dave Riedel

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