Let’s just call this the start of Movie Review, Season 2. Summer Movie Season is over. Football, moving to a new place, and the simple fact that there haven’t been many movies worth reviewing have all kept me away (For the record, I saw As Above, So Below and When The Game Stands Tall during my hiatus). But it’s time to get back in the swing of things. No Good Deed, the newest home invasion thriller, and the first movie to have a respectable box office gross since Ninja Turtles, is a solid place to pick things back up.
Idris Elba stars as a narcissistic murderer who escapes from custody (if you can call a short, out of shape white guy and an elderly black man police security) and proceeds to stalk his ex-girlfriend. After killing her for not replying to his prison letters and trying to move on, he drives off into a storm and his vehicle eventually plunges off of the road. That’s where wife and mother of two, Taraji P. Henson comes in. Henson plays good Samaritan and invites him in to wait out the storm while his fictitious tow truck is on the way. You don’t even need to watch the trailer to figure out where things go from there.
But despite what the promos may portray, this movie is only about half home invasion thriller. The other half is filled with seemingly one happy coincidence after another along with people being dumb. For instance, Henson’s character just happens to be a former lawyer who specialized in prosecuting murderers and rapists, but she is more gullible than her man-hungry, real estate dealing, bff (Leslie Bibb). Then there’s Henson’s dull husband (Henry Simmons) who is just a neglectful, unlikable, a-hole. As for every police officer in the film, they seem to be operating on a level beyond stupid.
Then again, most of the movies like this contain the same plot holes and weak characters. In that sense, No Good Deed is essentially your run of the mill thriller. Elba is effectively charming and creepy. Henson does her best frightened mother with the perfect dose of moxy. There are a few minor twists, but nothing jaw dropping. In the end, if you saw the trailer, you get the gist. This movie is meant for Red Box on a boring night, but with the shallow slate of films out, I wouldn’t blame anyone for seeing it in theaters to kill a few hours.
FINAL GRADE: C+
SN: Maze Runner, A Walk Among The Tombstones, This is Where I Leave You reviews coming soon.
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