Dead Man Down **

Niels Arden Oplev directed this Action thriller. Watch Preview. Cast: Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Dominic Cooper, Terrence Howard, Isabelle Huppert. Rated R for violence, language throughout and a scene of sexuality. Run time is one hour and fifty minutes.

Two strangers' (Farrell, Rapace)  mutual desire for revenge draws them together and triggers an escalating trail of mayhem.

This is a rather odd mixture of genres: classic gang action, European introspection, and romance. It would have been better if it had stuck to just one of those. As it is, it can be somewhat confusing to follow as its plot is convoluted. Don't even think about coming in on this one late...you'll never figure out what's going on. It might also help if you haven't seen the preview, since I found it to be somewhat misleading. Production values are good and the pacing is as good as it can be for the length. The time did pass fairly quickly but I think that's because I was having to really concentrate to keep abreast of the story. Farrell and Rapace are fine but the outstanding Huppert is basically wasted in a nonessential role that could have been easily edited out. If you think you want to see this I wouldn't waste time, it won't be around for long.

There are no additional scenes once the final credits start. Screen size is relatively unimportant. Theatres/Times.