An item of commendation in the success of “John Wick” was how the film put Keanu Reeves on screen in a way that brought out the most of his acting prowess. His previous portrayals should give some explanation of how directors have been able to leverage his capabilities, like Bruce Willis as an average Joe in “Die Hard” or Liam Neeson as a jaded man in Taken. So too, when it came to “John Wick” the character felt as if it was already crafted for Reeves. But this is not the case when one watches “24 Hours to Live” as the content of the film has a sharp contrast with the character of the actor headlining the film, the great Ethan Hawke. In his performance, one can view Hawke attempting to inject depth and reality into a film whose storyline bears a striking resemblance to a sequel of the film “Crank” whilst the conversations resemble the scribbles of an adolescent male. The way the actor perpetually battles with the many shortcomings of this particular cinematic piece is arguably more intriguing than the film’s actual storyline. At least more enjoyable.
Travis Conrad, portrayed by Hawke, is introduced in a scene where his father-in-law, Rutger Hauer, is fishing while talking about this soul. Shortly after, however, the pair can be seen emptying the ashes of Travis’s wife and son, who passed away exactly one year ago on this day. The screenwriters’ trick of always having Conrad’s grief over his family at the tip of the audience’s fingers will be touched on again and again, but on screen, it serves as nothing more than cheap screenwriting. At least, it is not done well. When stripped away from all family attachments, there are hints that Conrad should be a loose cannon, Yet, he is incredibly emotionless. Hawke, alongside director Brian Smrz, makes him appear far more grief-stricken than vengeful, and that feeling is evident throughout the film even when reveals himself thirsting for revenge in “24 Hours to Live.”
A central theme to the work is that this is not your ordinary assassin film. After Conrad accepts a final offer for a $2 million deal, everything goes sideways. Years later, he is on the street and gets shot a handful of times. Hawke wakes up on the operating table, gasping for air, where the doctor informs him the government has developed groundbreaking technology that can resurrect struggling patients. There is a twist they have 24 hours. To add spice to the twist, when placed in said situation, the doctor described the patient’s arm as a ticking time bomb.
To get some very crucial intel that Conrad was able to grasp only moments prior to his getting shot, the quite sinister Powers That Be wake Conrad. However, they fail to realize that one of their better assets may not be so willing to sit quietly in the operating room for the next 23 minutes and 55 seconds, and instead, Conrad turns the tables, breaks out, and sets his sights on the people who resurrected him.
An intriguing concept indeed, as he combines the essence of “Crank” and “John Wick” with Ethan Hawke. How could a film regarding an assassin with a death timer set on his arm ever be boring? The central issue is the separation already highlighted between actor and project. Hawke is quite heavyweight in anything that he does, and this movie requires insanity. He is an overly-human and relatable actor to the masses, but this script demands a more hollow performance a cog in the B-movie machine. Whenever Hawke takes on this task and tries to convincingly sell it, we can see the seams of the plot and the gaping holes of the manipulative tricks. Most of this defies all logic, but the most careful detail is how they wake Conrad. I hate to admit this, but “24 Hours to Live” functions best, if you turn off your brain and stop asking questions. However, this is never fun enough for that to work. In “24 Hours to Live”, suspension of disbelief requires a degree of joyous unhinged filmmaking but rather is too boring that the viewer does not feel any intimidation to ask questions.
This is the part where we can delve deeper into the other poorly executed aspects of “24 Hours To Live” like the consistently bad supporting cast and the poor directing but why spend the energy? Ethan Hawke will most likely brush this one off and move on to another franchise and find his “John Wick” somewhere in the distance. Just wait until he does.
To watch more movies visit Fmovies
Also Watch for more movies like:
