Reprisal (2018)

Directed by: Brian A. Miller | 95 minutes | action, crime | Actors: Bruce Willis, Frank Grillo, Johnathon Schaech, Olivia Culpo, Natali Yura, Tyler Jon Olson, Natalia Sophie Butler, Wass Stevens, Colin Egglesfield, Geoff Reeves, Shea Buckner, Christopher Rob Bowen, Ken Strunk, Ashley Wisdom, Tamara Belous

Bank manager Jacob is haunted by a past violent robbery that claimed the life of one of his colleagues. With the help of his neighbor James, a retired police officer, Jacob seeks justice and sets out to find the culprit. When they find them, Jacob thinks he can make a financial profit out of the situation to finance the expensive diabetes treatments for his daughter. However, the criminal Gabriel is one step ahead of him, which turns Jacob’s plan against him. Gabriel kidnaps Jacob’s wife and daughter, making an already dangerous and potentially deadly cat-and-mouse game even heavier.

An action film with Bruce Willis prominently featured on the movie poster: there was a time when that was more than enough to entice large crowds of movie buffs into buying a movie ticket or DVD. But one of the world’s most famous action stars can now also be seen regularly in glorified B-movies that don’t have much to offer. Unfortunately, ‘Reprisal’ is also such a no-brainer, a film that you’ll almost forget before it’s well and truly over. The storyline, with a few odd plot twists, is wafer-thin, which shouldn’t have been a problem in itself for a film of this type if it was visually appealing. But that is also disappointing in ‘Reprisal’. The action scenes look obligatory, are often moderately edited and rarely splash off the screen.

Moreover, after a reasonable start, the print quickly becomes unbelievable. The lightning-fast transformation of the somewhat timid, eager bank manager and family man Jacob, who eats alcohol and pills, into a chastened super detective/fighter boss in the style of John McClane is hardly credible. The implausibility of this scenario also becomes even greater when you take a look at the sophisticated weaponry that Jacob’s opponents have at their disposal.

The acting in ‘Reprisal’ doesn’t really stop there either. Frank Grillo is anything but convincing as a crime fighter and avenging angel Jacob. The scenes with his vulnerable daughter, who seem to be modest tearjerkers, are especially bad at times. Bruce Willis plays only a modest role in the story and therefore hardly gets the opportunity to distinguish himself. His presence in this film therefore does not seem to be based primarily on artistic grounds, but mainly aims to give the production some more commercial added value (big names simply sell). Although his performance is far from Oscar-worthy, Johnathon Schaech ultimately makes the most impression as the villain Gabriel. The dialogues in ‘Reprisal’ are not only sparse and weak, but are also regularly drowned out by the noisy and bombastic soundtrack.

Despite the presence of a few talented actors, ‘Reprisal’ rarely rises above the level of a trivial puff-puff-poof film. This print will therefore direct most viewers towards the off button of their remote control rather than towards the edge of their seat.