Grade (75%)
“SECURITY” is a direct-to-digital action film starring; Antonio Banderas, Ben Kingsley, Liam McIntyre and is directed by Alain Desrochers. The story follows a former soldier looking for work who gets a job as overnight security at a mall on the edge of town. Coincidentally on the same night a group of dangerous criminals are searching for a young girl that was supposed to testify against them.
Now that synopsis should have told you that this was a relatively generic action film filled with all the recycled plot-points. Former soldier, location on the edge of town, this story also takes place during a storm that conveniently cuts off communication with the outside world. All the ingredients that make up a routine straight-to-video action film. In this case a very entertaining one in my opinion.
This movie felt like a blend of the “Home Alone” premise, with “Paul Blart,” infused into a film like “Assault on Precinct 13.” It was not amazing by any means, but it was entertaining and certainly shows effort on many levels. Resulting in a film that will not shock you with unpredictability. But one that will entertain with some clear ambition taken into making an enjoyable action movie.
The performances are not too bad. Antonio Banderas was surprisingly convincing as the action lead and you must to give him credit for doing a lot of his own stunt-work. This allowed for some solid camera-work to capture the action-sequences very well resulting in some surprisingly capable scenes. Moments that make this action movie worth the time.
Ben Kingsley was a solid addition to the film. He was clearly going through the motions. But proves that even 60% of his effort in a project like this, will give you all the impact you are going to get. Regardless, he delivers the dialogue with all the charm and gravitas like you would expect from a good film villain.
There was an odd blend of disposable characters work for the plot and they all serve their purpose. Liam McIntyre was the exaggerated character of the group and he delivers some amusing moments that land effectively. You don’t get to know much about the characters but it was intentional as this real-time plot focuses on the situations and not character development. However, there is still enough chemistry between the cast, and with the younger group and Banderas particularly, that keep them from hindering the film at all.
Like I said the story is generic but it was loaded with fun, well-crafted action for the budget and gives you more than enough entertainment through naturally tense scenarios we can all imagine being in, given the familiarity of the story setting being at a shopping mall. It keeps a swift pace and doesn’t linger on unneeded dialogue which keeps the interest strong.
Overall, “Security” is a small-budget action movie that delivers some effective entertainment. It creates some subtly comical moments as well which show the perfect amount of self-awareness. If you are an action movie fan you will find some lighthearted fun in this one and Banderas puts in the effort to keep you entertained.