Movie Review by Dennis D. McDonald

Nicolas Cage (Color Out Of Space, Knowing) plays a retired professional assassin or mercenary now managing a seedy hotel located in an unnamed Latin American slum infested by crooks, crooked cops, and prostitutes. Bad guys — and bad women — converge over the course of a night at the hotel. Violence erupts. Bodies fall like dominos.

Cage’s character of course is dragged into the “festivities.” We follow a convoluted and complex story line to an obvious conclusion — a massive shootout.

As you can tell by the tags I have assigned this film it touches a lot of bases. For the most part it succeeds admirably especially if you are an action fan and are willing to suspend disbelief. The director and editor succeed in creating, despite a meager budget, not only tension but exciting and explosive action sequences. All are colorfully photographed despite the night-time setting.

Cage is perfectly suited to this role. His tendency towards craziness has been well balanced by his ability to project a calm and authoritative personality in the midst of chaos and temptation. He works well with the movie’s blend of well-acted bad guys, femme fatales, and crooks. Recommended especially if you’re interested in a noirish and quality B movie.

Review copyright (c) 2021 by Dennis D. McDonald

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