The Prime Minister (2016)

Directed by: Erik Van Looy | 102 minutes | thriller | Actors: Koen De Bouw, Tine Reymer, Charlotte Vandermeersch, Dirk Roofthooft, Stijn Van Opstal, Saskia Reeves, Adam Godley, Willy Thomas, Wim Willaert, Katelijne Damen, Jeroen Van der Ven, Isabelle Van Hecke, Nathan Wiley, Marcel Hensema

The Flemish action thriller ‘De Premier’ does not lack an ambitious plot. That prime minister seems to have it all: a nice family, responsible job and, as icing on the cake, the arrival of the president of the United States (a woman with the initials HC; the film dates from 2016). But then everything goes wrong. The prime minister’s wife and children are kidnapped and the kidnappers are not going to release them until the prime minister carries out an assignment: to assassinate the American president.

Incredible plot? Just wait until you see the effect, full of contradictions and craziness. The kidnappers seem to have planned everything in detail, but much of their plan is based on chance and improvisation. They operate from a high-tech environment but behave like simple gangsters. And why did they appoint half a psychopath to be the linchpin of the entire operation? Why is the prime minister emerging as some sort of action hero and apparently he has never heard of security protocols? And we always ask ourselves: why should the prime minister commit the murder when so many other options seem possible?

‘The Prime Minister’ is not only implausible, he also lacks a consistent tone. The film has all the hallmarks of a suspenseful and entertaining action thriller, but the blunt and eerie violence undermines the entertainment. Women are regularly used as punching bags and totally senseless murders are committed. An additional problem is the difficult mix of real characters (prime minister and entourage) and movie characters (the rest). A choice for one of those two categories would have worked out better.

What also doesn’t cooperate is the monotonous rhythm. The film never goes into overdrive, but it also rarely comes to rest. And when he calms down, we get a soapy turn that we are not waiting for either. Fortunately, a few actors (Koen de Bouw, Charlotte Vandermeersch) provide some light in the darkness, but it is not much.

With a lot of good will you can label ‘The Premier’ as an energetic roller coaster ride, but with broken carts, rusty rails, missing safety regulations and many gentle curves. A roller coaster ride that takes unnecessarily long and leads to its inevitable end, panting and puffing. You have to be very fond of roller coasters to enjoy this ride.