Those Who Wish Me Dead; Grade: C+
Those Who Wish Me Dead tells a story about a father and son, fleeing the state of Florida as there are assassins after the father, due to the fact the father has some serious important information. Information that’ll be critical against government power I believe. Meanwhile you have one whom works in the fire fighter department Hannah (Angelina Jolie), whom is still overcoming trauma from an incident that took the lives of a few young boys. Hannah will then meet the father’s son that was discussed earlier Connor (Finn Little), as Connor has word to Drake... GOT A LOT OF ENEMIES. Including the twin assassins, lightning, and a gigantic wild fire.
The Cinematography t’was solid, there was one really good memorable shot close to the end in regards to the wild fire. It was a nature shot, however the tree bark had a yellow like background as it looked pretty great. The Score was fine, I think in some scenes the composed music was effective in bringing tension. The cast was... Weak. Angelina Jolie playing a character in which is a goofball yet one encountering trauma from a horrific event, felt like a miscast to me. As one that’s supposedly supposed to be a country nature like person, I just don’t buy her in this role at all. I also think Jolie’s mannerisms in this role, regarding to acting like a weirdo was completely awkward, Jolie was effective at least in her emotional scenes. The tone of this character in general was just all over the place, you’re suppose to be encountering one that’s dealing with a lot of sadness, but at the same time you’re encountering one who’s just abnormal and it’s just strange, as it doesn’t mesh up at all.
Nicolas Hoult playing one of the antagonists was also mediocre, Hoult has a troubling time with whatever accent he was trying to portray, as it was very inconsistent. Honestly: Finn Little was perhaps my favorite performance of this entire film, I thought he had a fairly solid performance. I think the character Finn plays is also the best character as well, as a young boy dealing with the hardships of losing his father, as he’s trying to seek survival from these assassins.
Taylor Sheridan has written some solid films over the years, from the likes of Sicario, Hell or High Water, and Wind River. I was stoked for his return, as his last film he’s written and directed perhaps is my favorite thus far in his career. With Those Who Wish Me Dead... It’s fine?!
I believe Those Who Wish Me Dead has some effective moments of tension and also can be perhaps engaging. There’s a fair amount happening in the events going on in this story, regarding nature like elements and one surviving so they can rightfully expose the wrong doings of what is currently going behind the scenes. The third act was quite exciting especially, some cool shoot out sequences and action like moments especially in the finale. I also found one scene kind of unique, dealing with the sheriff handling the assassins, as far as expressing courage you don’t normally see, especially in the circumstances presented in the situation the sheriff was in.
But narrative speaking... It’s pretty basic. Also worth noting that the dialogue is kind of baffling, especially one like Sheridan whom is known to be a pretty damn good writer and even an Oscar nominated writer. Like the usage of profanity in this felt like it was written by a ten year old, there are quite a few moments that make you go... People don’t talk like this?! There are also moments of dialogue, in which characters ask questions in which lack logic. Like I won’t spoil anything, but in the ending especially, one character asks what the hell happened in this particular location... What do you mean what the hell happened?! Look around you: It’s quite obvious what happened. You’ve been flying around the entire Forrest, so looking at this particular location should be obvious why it is the way it is. This may not be Taylor Sheridan’s best work, but at least I can say it’s a passable film to watch.
Overall, Those Who Wish Me Dead was perfectly average. I do recommend this film, it’s kind of an enjoyable time at the theaters, can also be an enjoyable watch at home too. -Mitch Smietana