Action director Eran Creevy hit a new low with his latest movie “Collide.” High expectations for the flick were quickly dissolved as the plot-hole riddled, violence-heavy story unfolded.
STARS: 1/5
Former drug dealer-turned devoted boyfriend Casey, played by Nicholas Hoult, must resort to his old ways in order to afford a kidney transplant for his girlfriend, Juliette, played by Felicity Jones.
However, what begins as a heartfelt gesture quickly turns into a fallible plan as Casey enlists the help of his former boss, eccentric Turkish drug dealer Geran, played by Ben Kingsley, to steal from his supplier, Hegan Kahl (Anthony Hopkins.)
I suppose I should’ve been warned by the title of the movie, but the repetitive crashes and drawn-out car chases made the storyline nearly impossible to follow.
Also, there are several instances of gun, car and other violence, yet very little blood or gore was present, rendering the scenes unbelieveable. What’s worse, the camera work in these action scenes was chaotic enough to induce nausea.
As far as the structure of the movie, by the time the climax finally hit, I was no longer interested or able to follow to plot. Leading up to that point, the story line is clouded by too much lackluster action and meaningless dialogue, including several unnecessary monologues by Hopkins.
Additionally, as the story unfolds, the logic falls apart. The entire exposition feels like an extremely long cat-and-mouse game, making the story seem increasingly implausible, as well as bringing unanswerable questions to the audience’s mind, such as: How are the “bad” guys always able to catch up to them? Distracted by these questions, it was hard for the audience to focus and remain interested.
Possibly the only thing that makes this film noteworthy is the outstanding acting by Kingsley and Hopkins. Their delivery and development of characters was the only plotline possible to follow.
While Hoult and Jones aren’t terrible, unfortunately, they just aren’t noteworthy.
In all, I believe “Collide’s” demise can be chalked up to bad casting, lack of depth and an uninspired plotline. Your money would be better spent on renting this film so you can fast forward through the first half — or, better yet, on renting a different movie altogether.
