Review by John Delia
A fairly good action film, Force of Nature develops around a hurricane about to touch down in Puerto Rico. Caught in the big wind are a couple of police officers, an art thief and a retired detective who have to fight their way out of an arrest gone bad during the intimidating danger closing in on them. If you like a film with some nonstop action, it works for fans of the genre.
Officers Cardillo (Emile Hirsch) and Troy (Kate Bosworth) have been assigned to a high rise building to help in its evacuation as a Hurricane bares down on the city. Going to each apartment, they run into ex-cop Ray (Mel Gibson) and his daughter Jess (Stephanie Cayo). The stubborn Ray won’t leave even with the pleading of his daughter. Giving up on the two the officers proceed to the next floor and come upon murder in progress.
The film takes a few turns with the main characters finding themselves trapped with a killer, John the Baptist (David Zayas). He’s looking for a valuable painting and hell bent on getting it no matter how many bodies he leaves in his wake. Director Michael Polish (Twin Falls Idaho and Big Sur) moves his film along at a fast pace following the introduction of the killer. Using some very good special effects and limited CGI, he sets up a dramatic standoff with a lot of action.
Even though the script is a far below the value he brings to the film, I do like seeing Mel Gibson back doing what he does best. In the role of the tough retired cop who has to save two new officers from certain death, who better to call on than Gibson. Of course you can see that he certainly add his own idea of how Ray should go about taking down the bad guys, but that’s to be expected.
The film does have a downside and that’s the storyline that gets a bit contrived with an obvious twist ending. However, performances from David Zayas as the Baptist and William Catlett as apartment owner Griffin make the film worth the watch.
Force of Nature has been rated R by the MPAA for violence and pervasive language. It’s now available on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD.
FINAL ANALYSIS: check this one out if you want an uplift with being sequestered. (3.5 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Emile Hirsch, Kate Bosworth, Stephanie Cayo, Emile Hirsch, Will Catlett, Swen Temmel
Directed by: Michael Polish
Genre: Action, Drama, Crime
MPAA Rating: R for violence and pervasive language
Running Time: 1 hr. 31min.
Opening Date: June 30, 2020
Distributed by: Lionsgate
Released in: Blu-ray, DVD and VOD