Reel Hungry Film Reviews: The Expatriate/Erased

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Synopsis: "An ex-CIA agent and his estranged daughter are forced on the run when his employers mark them both for termination as part of a wide-reaching international conspiracy." - courtesy of IMDb.

Genre: Action, Thriller

Director: Philipp Stolzl

Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Olga Kurylenko, Liana Liberato

Writer: Arash Amel

Run Time: 100 minutes




Check out the review after the jump. 


Before you read on, check out the trailer. But, beware! This trailer almost spoils the whole film. 

Looking at that trailer, you might think of this movie to be entertaining, fun, worth a watch, etc. Admittedly, it does have a sense of mystery, an aura of intrigue to it. And you might even be right to think that, to a certain extent.

Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent from The Dark Knight) plays an ex-CIA agent now working as a lock picking expert whose employer disappears overnight. His relentless curiosity into why he landed himself in such a situation puts his own and his daughter's lives in danger. Yes, of course there is a conspiracy involved, but I won't spoil it for you.

The movie goes from setup to action pretty quickly and does a fairly good job of it too. You never feel bored and that's an important trait in my eyes. It is set in Belgium and for the most part, you can recognise the European feel to the movie; that's no bad thing. It gives the movie a certain quality that adds to the mystery and intensity of the story. Eckhart does a very good job as the lead; the casting director got this decision spot on considering the low budget. Liana Liberato also does a decent job of playing an estranged daughter who has to deal with her father's questionable past in a matter of days; but it was a little annoying to see her character stropping and sulking through the entire movie. 
 

Liana Liberato, Aaron Eckhart

The lead female on the other hand is who I had a problem with. Olga Kurylenko plays a CIA operative who is in charge of chasing down Eckhart, her former colleague. Her dialogue was poor at best, and her delivery was even worse at times. Her accent is a problem too. I understand that's not her fault but if she can't adopt a convincing American accent, maybe she was the wrong choice for this role. Some of the dialogue for the secondary characters also seemed shoe-horned in, even inappropriate at times. Little things like this can take you away from the story and make you wonder 'Did I seriously just hear that?!' 

The plot, as intriguing as it may seem in the trailer, can be hard to follow at times. Certain plot points make you wonder at the importance of it in the grand scheme of things. And after a while the main plot, the conspiracy, takes a back seat. Without spoiling too much all I can say is that the movie takes a page from 'Taken'.

To be fair though, the end does try to answer the questions that may have risen in your mind during the film, if you still remember them; and it succeeds to a certain extent. Overall, this is a decent espionage thriller but it’s no Bourne. My suggestion would be to not rush to the cinema to watch this. In fact, I think you'd be hard pressed to find any screenings of this around; as far as I can tell its a straight to DVD release in the UK. If you came across it on the television with part of your mind on your phone and a part on your laptop talking to friends on Facebook while your partner/housemate/parent/sibling is talking at you, you may want to leave it on. 

All jokes aside, if you are a member of LOVEFilm, Netflix or others of the sort then you should check it out. I recommend going into this with low expectation, put away your thinking cap and enjoy the relatively short ride. It should be fun.

The Expatriate/Erased is due to be released on DVD on 8th April. 

Plot: 6/10
Music: 4/10
Visuals: 7/10
Screenplay: 6/10

Overall: 6/10

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