johnlink ranks NO GOOD DEED (2014)
Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson are both actors I like. So put them together in one of my favorite genres, the thriller, and let them run wild? I’ll see that movie for sure. Wasn’t expecting greatness, hoping for some suspense.
I watched NO GOOD DEED (2014) on 6.15.15. It was my first viewing of the film.
There seem to be fewer and fewer thrillers being made thee days. Where decades past had an overabundance of them, it seems as though modern thriller scripts get stuffed into TV serials. Have a decent little thriller plot? Just turn it into a CSI episode.
So when these movies do make it to full length status, you would think there would be something to set them apart, to make them worthwhile. NO GOOD DEED is a movie about an escaped convict, Colin (Idris Elba) terrorizing a mother of two small children, Terry (Taraji P. Henson). Her need to protect an infant and a four year old while also trying to save herself from the evil man in her home adds some suspense, but this is otherwise a standard thriller script.
The performances are pretty good. Elba seeps both charm and evil in alternating moments as the ‘malignant narcissist’ Colin. Henson doesn’t play her former DA’s assistant as a woman living in fear. She constantly defies her enemy’s orders and challenges him whenever she gets a chance. This is certainly played realistically considering her children are involved, though it is a wonder that Colin doesn’t do something about her defiance sooner.
The first half of the movie is maybe too long, as we know how evil Colin is while Terry slowly finds out. Her best friend, Meg (Leslie Bibb) is nicely written and decently performed. When major plot point involving her happens, the movie really gets going. There is an odd twist at the end, one which seems both unnecessary and convoluted because either this movie’s plot hinges on an all time unlikely coincidence, or Colin planned an elaborate car accident for no reason. Either way, this is not a movie which needed a twist, and we are worse off as an audience for it.
There is a surprising amount of violence, both real and imagined, for a PG-13 movie. Particularly, the sexual violence seems over the top for a movie you’d send a 14 year old too. Not that this is something kids shouldn’t see, it just feels like the MPAA was asleep at the wheel with this one. With all of the attention in our society today regarding violence against women, this movie features a villain who seems only able to communicate with women through violence. This isn’t a silly horror film with ghosts and creepy things causing jump scares; this is a movie about a guy who enjoys abusing women.
But, rating notwithstanding, this is an entertaining enough thriller. Eminently forgettable to be sure, one which doesn’t invite or warrant repeat viewings. But for 90 minutes of cat-and-mice? This will do.
SCORES
FILM: 4; MOVIE: 7; ACTING: 6; WRITING: 4
4+7+6+4+0=21
FINAL SCORE: 5.25 out of 10
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