Apostle

Gareth Evans is a Welsh director who wrote and directed The Raid 1 & 2. Two action thrillers set in Indonesia that set cinema on fire back in 2011 and 2014 respectively. They were an amazing watch, packed to the gills with blistering action and "How the fuck did they do that??" moments. They were cinematic nirvana, you'd leave the picturehouse afterwards wrecked but smiling and you'd talk to your friends about them for weeks afterwards. They were the kind of films that introduced reticent people to foreign cinema while blowing your mind at the same time. They blew the cobwebs off a genre that was in danger of getting stale and they've been influencing action movies since. The news that Evans new film would be a UK set one was intriguing. Everyone wondered what he had up his sleeve and even better news was the fact that it would be on Netflix therefore available to everyone with an account. The trailers looked great. This was going to be something special.....

1905. Thomas Richardson is on his way to a island called Erisen off the coast of Wales to find his sister who has been kidnapped by a strange cult run by a man called Malcolm who claims to be a prophet in contact with an ancient goddess. Thomas has to lay low and try to blend in while searching for clues as to her whereabouts. But strange things are happening all around him that he can't ignore.

This was a mess. If you've come to this looking for the gory violence present in Evans' earlier films you'll be satisfied because it's here in spades but there's not much else. It feels like the plot was written, felt a bit thin, and in the haste of padding it out a whole new plotline was jammed in turning it from mystery thriller into something else entirely. The clash of genres is jarring and whole chunks of the film seem extremely silly as a result. It's a pity because there is a lot of good here. The setting is intriguing and lovingly created, chock full of atmospheric touches and creepy cult stuff. Director Evans can shoot the hell out of an action scene. The gory set-pieces feel visceral and shocking (though in one or two moments you get the feeling that he is wallowing in nastiness a bit too much) compared to today's family friendly multiplex fare and Michael Sheen as Malcolm is always worth watching especially in his rantier moments. Plus it's nice to here him speaking in his own accent for once. Had the film been played as a straight thriller it would have been much more satisfying.

Dan Stevens as Thomas isn't a patch on Sheen sadly. A dull lead is never good. We don't really get to know him at all. An interesting backstory is hinted at but nothing comes of it. In a 2 hr film you'd expect the lead character to be some bit rounded out but not here. You'll find yourself not giving a fig if he succeeds in his mission and caring more about the plight of the film's supporting characters instead. As the more likable of them start getting killed of any enthusiasm you'll have for the film will start ebbing away too. There's no tension at all as a result. I like Stevens. His 2014 delve into genre cinema with "The Guest" was an immensely entertaining watch and this sadly isn't a patch on it.

If you want brutal knifings, speared faces, grim torture and all that jazz then you've come to the right place. If you want anything other than that though you're best off looking elsewhere making this is a big disappointment and coming on the coattails of other excellent Netflix originals like Hold The Dark and Private Life just makes it doubly so. 

Fingers crossed for The Raid 3.