★★☆☆☆
The Jekyll-Hyde career paradigm of Antonio Banderas continues with this horribly derivative English-language crime thriller, which arrives in cinemas just months after he produced one of the finest performances of his career, in the Spanish-language comedy Official Competition.
This time we’re in an ersatz Tarantino-land set among the criminal underclass of Miami. It’s a place filled with illegal sex dungeons, bare-knuckle boxing rackets and a ridiculously ill-conceived Mob boss, Estelle, played by Kate Bosworth as a stony-faced gender-fluid psychopath. Into this world steps an ex-con and gravel-throated smoothie nicknamed Cuda (short for Barracuda, obviously) and played by Banderas in shameless pay cheque mode.
There’s a hoary narrative thread in there, pilfered from Taken, via Taxi Driver, via The Searchers, about how Cuda wants to save a kidnapped girl to save his relationship with his own daughter to, yup, save himself. But that’s being very generous. It’s mostly just Banderas growling, smouldering and bleeding quite a bit.
18, 90min
In cinemas
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