Blake Lively (Stephanie Patrick), Richard Brake (Lehmans), Raza Jaffrey (Keith), Geoff Bell (Green), Jude Law (Ian), Sterling Brown (Mark), Robert Mullins (Errol), Ivana Basic (Oksana), Irma Mali (Natalya).
The Rhythm Section begins by showing us what Stephanie becomes, then does a slight rewind to show us how she got there. Now on to the main plot, Stephanie meets Raza who tells her about the plot to kill her family, setting Stephanie on a path of self-destructive revenge. The rest of the film is a strange mix of apparent emotional drama, action, and espionage. The story finishes with something of a tepid close, aside from the interesting soundtrack.
Acting was somewhat dry and lifeless here. Lively was trying to come across as brooding and damaged, but instead felt anti-social and disturbed. Law was slightly better with glints of emotion at time. Brake was in-type, well cast, and delivered well. Jaffrey was solid and seemed to work well with Lively. The remainder of the supporting cast was okay.
Camera work, sets, and backgrounds all felt a bit dirty and dull. Some action scenes were hard to watch with fast switching and shaky camera work, others felt a bit contrived. Dialogue left a lot to the imagination. Sound and soundtrack are surprisingly decent.
The Rhythm Section simply didn't stick the landing on a few points. The storyline felt rough, as if unexplained fully or contrived. Overall, it felt like there was a serious lack of emotion from just about everyone and while Lively may be a decent actress, making her look like a meth addict then trying to sell her as an action hero simply doesn't work well.
With a brief bit of sexuality, graphic violence, gore, and foul language this should be fine for older teens and above.
Released: 2020
Reviewed: 3.1.21
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Action, Drama, Crime, Mystery
copyright ©2021 Dave Riedel
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