Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * *
Cast: John Travolta, Famke Janssen, Morgan Freeman, Brendan Fraser, Robert Patrick, Peter Stormare, Kat Graham, Claudia Gerini, Ella Bleu Travolta, Nick Vallelonga, Alice Pagani, Nadine Lewington, Sheila Shah, Ashley Atwood, Luis Da Silva Jr, Julie Lott, William Tokarsky, Blerim Destani, Cristina Serafini, Paul Sampson, Frank Renzulli, Chris Mullinax, Drew Ater, Bruno Bilotta, Bill Luckett, Melissa Greenspan, Leni Rico.
John Travolta will always be seen as a divisive cinematic hero to reflect upon, lead roles in films such as Grease, Pulp Fiction, Saturday Night Fever, and even the hugely successful Look Who’s Talking made him one of the most recognisable stars of the 20th Century, and yet in that same spirit of familiar identity, he has also been part of some of the more unremarkable films to have graced the medium since. However, it has to be said that when he is not playing up to his former image or name, the film he performs in is one that becomes watchable, maybe not a stunning piece of work, but at least bearable.
The problem comes from being the big name, the casual viewer flicking through the options might arguably see his name attached above anyone else’s and then be torn between memory and hope. Whilst Eye For An Eye doesn’t hold too much of an olive branch in the way of atoning for some pretty spectacular turkeys, it nevertheless has some charm attached to it, a story that could have been taken further than it was allowed to go, but still dictates a presence within its time frame.
If truth to be told none of the actors, bar a resurgent Brendan Fraser, cover themselves in to much glory, but that is not the point of the film, understated and with a sense of Noirish intrigue, the characters are a product of their surroundings and that is what gives the film its grittier edge.
If the film was placed against others of its kind from a different period, it would hold up as being instinctive, true to its form, it is only let down by the subtly of its own creation, too many years too late, but still a moment on screen which creates tension, and finds a way to bind two diverse strands together and bring them to the attention of the viewer, namely the unspeakable act of wife-beating and the abuse of the mentally ill and old for profit.
Eye For An Eye will arguably never be seen as a classic, far from it, but it has a quality that is hard to ignore, shuffling along with vigour rather than finesse; a story that perhaps matches our own view on life.
Ian D. Hall