'The Rhythm Section' review: Sandy Kenyon says star Blake Lively 'deserves better' than fronting film
NEW YORK (WABC) -- January is the month where bad movies go to die, and the worst are saved for Super Bowl weekend when most Americans are focused on the big game. Still, Blake Lively manages to make the best of a bad situation.
She is not a "Gossip Girl" anymore, and truth be told, the TV show never tested her talents. Lively has transcended the series that made her famous to become a big screen star - a star who frankly deserves better than fronting "The Rhythm Section."
The family of Stephanie, Lively's character in the film, dies in the crash of an airliner, driving her to drugs and prostitution in London. An investigative journalist finds her and reveals the tragedy was not an accident, but an act of terrorism with a bomb on the plane.
This leaves Stephanie bent on revenge, but first, she must get training from a professional operative played by Jude Law, who tells her even if she is successful, "It won't be worth it."
Seeing an ordinary woman training to be an assassin sets this film apart from others featuring alpha killers, but it takes too long to get her up to speed, and the explanation of the picture's stupid title doesn't help.
Sterling K. Brown keeps us guessing as an information broker. Is he her friend or foe, or somewhere in between?
Long before the big reveal, without much suspense, I guessed who he really was. There wasn't much left to enjoy besides an actress coming into her own, and action scenes that are kind of exciting. In the end, that's not enough to persuade me to recommend this picture.
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