Directed by:
Tate TaylorScreenplay:
Matthew NewtonCinematography:
Stephen GoldblattComposer:
Bear McCrearyCast:
Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell, John Malkovich, Geena Davis, Common, Jess Weixler, Joan Chen, Diana Silvers, Ioan Gruffudd, Levon PanekVOD (4)
Plots(1)
Ava (Jessica Chastain) is a deadly mercenary who works for a black ops organization, travelling the globe and specializing in high profile hits. Avas career takes a bad turn when a high profile job goes wrong due to faulty information provided to her. With a botched hit (as well as a track record for questioning the validity of her targets), Ava is told to take a hiatus until the heat blows over, but secretly the head of the organization, Simon, (Colin Farrell) has ordered a hit on her to ensure nothing traces back to the company. With the recent death of her father, Ava decides to go back home to Boston and attempt to mend her relationship with her mother and sister, Judy, though the homecoming proves to be far from happy as the years of estrangement have created resentment. To complicate things further, Avas ex-fiancé, Michael is now in a relationship with Judy, and involved with an underground gambling ring that Ava knows all too well from her younger days. Ava now has to save her family and herself from multiple threats, while battling her own demons. (Madman Entertainment)
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Reviews (9)
In the scenes featuring Geena Davis, I fail to see how the “horror” genre label applies. You need a strong stomach to watch someone who used to be a charismatic young lady and is now bloated with Botox. Hollywood actresses seem to be incapable of ageing gracefully. Nicole Kidman says hello. As for the movie as such? Jessica, following in the footsteps of Charlize Theron, has produced the umpteenth variation on the “tough girl” trope, and it doesn’t work at all. Not even as a relationship drama, because no one will be invested in Ava’s family troubles, nor as an action movie, because the action is bland and lifeless and lacks adrenalin. I really bought Charlize’s combative Amazon, but I couldn’t suspend disbelief for Jessica’s. Two stars, but only because I wasn’t offended by how stupid it was, and because of John Malkovich, who delivers a fantastic “protective grandfather” aura. The man is charisma incarnate.
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Nothing that we haven't seen before (perhaps with the exception of Steven Seagal's films), and it’s been done better. Jessica Chastain battles not only killers, but also the stupid script, the rest of the cast looks good in the credits, but as a result it's all a big missed chance. In addition, Tate Taylor can't even shoot a proper action scene, which is pretty bad for an action movie.
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Maybe if this were a two-hour special of Days of Our Lives, Ava could be seen as a success. Unlikeable characters with illogical motivations wander through a sort of reality that is reminiscent of life and poor actors who probably only received the script at the door when they arrived for the shoot. This cold-blooded assassin constantly emotionally hounded by an old family trauma looks deep into her memories which she supposedly isn’t interested in, because she wants to steal her sister’s husband and disappear? So Common plays a complete jerk and Colin Farrell a slippery HR manager who is just solving a problem with the staff. ‘Cause business rules... The whole of the funny finale when the heroine is on the brink of suicide until a baddie who wants to kill her breaks into her apartment and so she fights for her dear life with him sounds like something from a screenwriter who didn’t read what came before so he could follow on from that. A miserable movie, with pretty good action.
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The only scenes where Jessica Chastain is not replaced by a stunt double are the ones where she has cleavage up to her waist and a slit too. Thanks God at least for that. The rest is tragic, absolutely devoid of substance and script. Malkovich is the only one who kind of sticks out as an actor. Charlize was an agent of a different calibre.
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Ava is a bit of a pointless film. In terms of action, it wants to be Anna and in terms of story it wants to be Red Sparrow, but in terms of quality it doesn't live up to either. Fortunately, it stars Jessica Chastain and Colin Farrell, actors who make every movie worth seeing. The action is unfortunately dull to the point of woe, but it's good enough to kill the boredom. Story**, Action***, Humor>No, Violence**, Entertainment***, Music***, Visuals***, Atmosphere***, Suspense***. 5/10.
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