It’s difficult to disregard an action film that attempts to puree the violence with the stoic lessons of Marcus Aurelius. Such is the case with Acts of Vengeance, starring Antonio Banderas, who, at age 57, seems to be chasing the same kind of middle-aged action figure that has benefited Liam Neeson so much. While Banderas did not work with Almodovar enough in his life, he has learned to be a great deal more civilized in ways almost always like the strong silent type. It’s good practice for the upcoming Deat Wish remake with the equally aged Bruce Willis.
Banderas features as Frank Valera a high-profile defense attorney who, like many of his colleagues, neglects to maintain his family, rather concentrates solely on his profession. Unfortunately, that leads to tragedy when he misses his daughter’s recital, coming home as his family turns to vanish, leaving him alone in an empty house. Just hours later he is escorted by the police to a scene where his wife and daughter have been slaughtered, the aftermath of his dark negligence.
The cop head of the case (Johnathon Schaeck) is unable to locate anything important or useful. Eventually, a cooperative officer, Strode (Karl Urban), personally lets Frank know that the case has been closed, thereby sending the depressed counselor into a liquored state. He later comes across a more relaxing method of self-torture when he stumbles upon the underground fighting scene and ditches the increasingly debilitating restraints.
Upon his return one night, he is approached by a teenage escort. He offers resistance towards the proposal, and when her book comes after a few moments, Frank attempts to help and gets a nasty stab wound for his assistance. While jumping through the window of a library, he stumbles upon a blood-stained book by Marcus Aurelius and everything changes.
There is then a theme change accompanied by a montage where the only thing inappropriate is a lack of the Rocky theme which should put a smile on the crowd’s face thanks to him, Frank is inspired to go through a plethora of changes after being called mad by Aurelius for expecting ill civilization. In addition to great changes in physique, Frank also starts attending martial arts classes. He also finds out, which will surprise a number of audiologists, that his ears work miracles after he breaks his vow of silence.
In an effort to find his family’s killers, Frank discovers that honing his fighting skills is to no avail as he gets shot while battling a group of thugs. He is taken home by a woman passerby, Alma (Paz Vega) who rescues him. When he regains consciousness, she identifies herself as an ER nurse and volunteers working in a local homeless shelter. On the bright side, Frank also finds an unexpected German shepherd who seems to share the same spirit as him, so he considers the dog to be his sidekick.
Within the parameters of the conventional thriller frames, Frank comes to realize the identity of the sinister killer which is bound to be obvious to the audience. This discovery, as expected, leads to the last unforgiving showdown which like every other well-executed fight scene in the movie is entirely superbly staged by Tim Man.
Physically, Antonio looks in fantastic shape and with slight adjustments here and there, he appears to sell the role strongly. In addition to the aforementioned players, the film has a rather powerful supporting cast which include Robert Forster, who makes a vivid impression in his brief encounter as Frank’s belligerent father in law.
Filmmaker Isaac Florentine, an accomplished figure in the world of this kind of low-budget action gore, not surprisingly has more effectiveness with the action than he has with drama, but he keeps the pace moving nicely. He and fight choreographer Man also comeos as two of the sanseis training Frank.
Just like its protagonist, Acts of Vengeance does not have much to speak about. But it completes the task.
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