Standoff (2016)

Isabelle 'Bird' Morgan (Ella Ballentine) is visiting her parents' grave when a masked assassin comes out of the woods to stage a massacre. Bird is hidden and photographs the killer Sade (Laurence Fishburne) unmasked. He chases her into Carter Green (Thomas Jane)'s home. It's a standoff as Sade is unwilling to let Bird live. Carter is upstairs with a quail gun and only one shell. He is also haunted by his own tragic loss.The setup is OK but I'm not sure about Sade being so nonchalant with his mask off. It makes little sense that he spends the time covering the grave. He should have been setting up a fire in the house when Carter makes that nice move with the film. There are things that could have ratcheted up the tension. Carter could have set his own fire as a warning signal. Instead of action, this becomes more of a back and forth stage play. The intensity never really takes off although it simmers at a good low boil.

Whilst paying respect to her parents at a cemetery a young girl known as Bird (Ella Ballentine) witnesses an assassin called Sade (Laurence Fishburne) executing a few people in 'cold blood' based upon orders he has been given. Not only does she 'witness' the crime, but she also takes incriminating photos of the assassin committing said crime. Sade soon learns that Bird has incriminating evidence of his crime and chasing her to a nearby house which is owned by Carter Green (Thomas Jane) a disaffected veteran who will stop at nothing to protect this young girl. What effectively follows is a stand-off between good and evil.Oh dear if there is a way to make a film about as ludicrous, ridiculous, improbable, implausible and as stupid as possible then the filmmakers in Stand-Off have really gone to town here;This film really makes no sense from start to finish; Fishburne's character is assassinating people at someone's funeral and for starters the point of this is never established; what exactly is the reason for this and who has organised the hit? OK; it's a film and in a film that has a tightly knitted plot this perhaps wouldn't matter, but sadly the sense of stupidity and the clichés continue to mount up here....We have an assassin who removes and takes his mask off willy-nilly (and seemingly keeps his face covered up even in front of people who know what he looks like). The film then relies on ridiculous contrivances in order to create tension (a homeowner in an isolated setting who happens to have had his phone cut off) and seemingly the only person who has a mobile phone that he doesn't carry in his pocket or in close proximity even though he knows that his landline isn't working???? - yes it's believable at a stretch, but seems more contrived than anything. The film then ups the contrivances by having a lone police officer go and investigate a mysterious shooting and one that (despite his hunch that something is 'wrong', decides to ignore his 'gut instinct' and go it alone which in predictable fashion only ends up finishing one way for the 'have-a-go copper'). Then we have the assassin ring up the homeowner's ex-wife/partner and trick her into coming home - hmmmm.... most phones have a pin lock on them, but in typical contrived style this must have not had a pin lock on it.... again possibly believable at a stretch, but by this point I was starting to believe that the law of averages were ridiculously in favour of the assassin. Oh yeah and we have also have the rather novel cliché of a generator powering the electricity about to run out just before the assassin is about to commit his next horrendous crime (this gets some acknowledgment for being a somewhat novel cliché, but it still failed to impress me). The performances do save the film somewhat and I actually thought that Laurence Fishburne easily carried the film; despite the fact that I had this uneasy feeling that he was trying to be Samuel L Jackson for the most part. Thomas Jane is also fairly good and at least makes for a fairly likable anti-hero.Despite the rather clichéd plot-mechanics and formulaic storytelling this film actually isn't half-bad in some areas; the psychological battle of wits between Jane and Fishburne is interesting to watch and there are occasional moments of tension here and there. However, the scenario here is far too familiar and director Adam Alleca fails to deliver much in the way of tension or claustrophobia and his script also becomes tiresome and repetitive in the second half. So yes it has its moments, but not enough it to make it worth watching.

Just beyond the opening scenes, Standoff quickly rises above its cheapness as an enjoyable and gripping suspense thriller. Then we're treated to an old breed of filmmaking that hasn't been this well-done since the likes of Misery! I love both headlining actors dearly but they've unfairly fallen off the radar in recent years. I still buy into their efforts on occasion despite bitter reviews, though, because budget does not always make for a great movie. In this case, it hits the spot.So an ex-military man turned mafia hit-man hunts the sole witness of a multiple murder - a young girl with a camera - to a lonely farmhouse inhabited by a grieving alcoholic. Literally this is the premise and the scene is set for a siege and an edgy war of wits as one tries to convince the other to let him have the girl and walk away.Sometimes that's all you need; no winding plot twists to keep people guessing. Sometimes it's just about the suspense and the viscera, but Standoff benefits from a great script and the skills of the director who also wrote it.It has an old-school feel to it, and when we get down to it, even the look of the film harks back to a day of shamelessly simple effectiveness.Fishburne is on top form as the villain, bringing the ghetto mentality of former villainous roles from the likes of King of New York and Assault on Precinct 13. He's sharper than ever, bursting with character and both smouldering and cold-blooded.Thomas Jane also throws in his strongest performance in a long time and his man on the edge versus the man on a deadline is both genius acting and writing at once. They don't make characters like this anymore. Back in the '70s or '80s the role could have belonged to Lee Marvin, James Coburn or Roy Scheider.I'm surprised and saddened that Standoff isn't getting recognition. It deserves a round of applause!

As a fan of Thomas Jane and Lawrence Fishburne, I wanted to like this movie. However, what seemed to be pitched as a battle of wits turned into an hour and half screaming match between the two actors. The movie is basically Jane attempting to keep a little girl from being killed by Fishburne with his last shotgun shell. The two of them spend the whole movie yelling insults and cursing at each other, with very little happening in between. The script tries to add some story by telling giving Jane's character a tragic backstory, but it really doesn't do much to keep the plot moving. The best part of the movie is the little girl. Ella Ballentine has some definite talent, and finding out what happens to her is the only reason to finish watching the movie. This young actor adds a weariness and "old soul" quality to her character that makes her seem wiser beyond her years. While pitched as a battle of wits, this is more of a pissing contest between two stubborn men. If that's your thing, then go for it.