Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating *
Cast: Bruce Willis, Thomas Jane, Clive Standen, Theo Rossi, Jacki Moore, Mike Tyson, Maddie Nichols, Derek Russo, Lauren Buglioli, Kurt Yue, Eric Buarque, Caia Coley, Randy Gonzalez, Maury Morgan, Dustin Lewis, Cabot Basden, Jesse O’Neill, Patrick Lamont Jr., Darryl Dillard, Demetrius Stear, Nathan Hesse, Tamil Periasamy, Cindy L. Jefferson, Rashawd Ford.
It doesn’t take a genius to see the coloration between some aspects of cinema and the life led in the world outside, that what is seen on the screen is not only a mirror image of American society, but can also be seen leading it, a belief that is copied and turned into a monster that feeds upon itself.
Cinema is at the forefront of modern life, and like its more intrusive sibling, television, it has a responsibility to frame how we view the world, from its greatest triumphs to its inevitable destruction, from the personal highlights of a hero to the damnation of those that would harm and spread fear through the selfish actions in which they threaten, terrorise, and endanger. Whilst many films portray this action in a way that leaves the viewer understanding the thin line between order and chaos, there are some that cloud the issues at hand in such a way that the viewer cannot but help acknowledge that crime sells and puts the proverbial bums on seats but is also inspiring others to solve their problems with guns, ultra-violence and death rather than wit, cunning, and the force for good.
Vendetta seems to go full circle, and if it were not for the terrible reasons for the retirement of one of cinema’s most enduring stars of the last forty years, Bruce Willis, the film itself should be seen as one completely to avoid.
The irony of the inclusion of Thomas Jane in the film as Dante is perhaps not lost on those who enjoy the Dark Knights series of films that Marvel put out to increase its more adult orientated portfolio, and as The Punisher there were moments in which the character perfectly suited the idea of mental instability in response to the damage caused by war and the need for revenge. Yet in Vendetta, the tale of a man, Clive Standen as William Duncan, who seeks revenge on the criminals who murdered his daughter, gives an almost unapologetic cause of the rights of the amendment, and one to which even in Thomas Jane, and Theo Rossi as Rory Fetter, cannot hope to save.
The tale is not only as old as the first stories that concerned itself with the need for revenge, but it also lacks faith, nuance, concerning itself arguably with a lack of creativity in the guise of false redemption; in short, Vendetta is a film for a time that has not only lost its way, but finds itself in a perpetual loop that sees the very dangerous issues at hand as being continually solved by the desire to hear the scream that comes from a bullet finding its target.
If only for the chance to see Bruce Willis in action in one of his final performances, Vendetta would only be worth watching as a reminder of the decay felt for a country wrestling with itself over how it is perceived in the wider context of the safety of its citizens.
He who seeks revenge should dig two graves…in the case of Vendetta, it could be doubted that two is enough.
Ian D. Hall