No Good Deed

Sometimes going to the theater isn't always the most exciting of experiences.

It can be hard work going to a film that doesn't appeal or get you hyped up in the slightest, and having to sit through it in order to blog about it later can be just as painful (talk about first world problems!).

I'm joking mostly, but this September is truly a month that will test my will power of bringing new reviews of several films that I couldn't care less about.

So this weekend I dragged my feet to the theater, pretty unwilling to see No Good Deed. I'm not really sure I understand any of the appeal of these creepy-obsessive thriller films, but they get made, and it was pretty much the only wide release out. I was slightly intrigued because Idris Elba was attached to the film, and you can usually count on him to bring a strong performance.

So I went to the theater, saw the film, and then left the theater. Why the play by play there? Because it felt like I was just going through the motions this time, and that is never a good thing for a film. When it lacks any inspiration and I'm already forgetting it on the drive home, well, it really is just a film that shouldn't have been made.

"Sure! You can come in!"
One of her few dumb decisions, but a really
dumb one nonetheless

It's not that No Good Deed is a bad film. It actually is filmed pretty well, with some exciting chase and fight scenes. Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson both do their best with the script and Elba, without going completely off the rails, certainly brings the crazy and creepy. Taraji Henson plays the "strong black woman" stereotype well, and we are most certainly rooting for her as an audience once Elba all of the sudden goes apes**t. As far as on-screen heroines go, she is exciting to watch and (for the most part) smart, but much like the film, very forgettable.

Elba is the film's strongest bullet point as a man with a rather mysterious past, despite the movie's attempts to try and explain what he did, who has a very serious anger issue. His character is continuously creepy, with there always being a menace behind his eyes. For 95% of the film, you think that his character, Colin, is going on a senseless rampage but an actually pretty well orchestrated last minute twist reveals his true intentions. Although, thinking more about it afterward, I still questioned his motives and his game plan as it really doesn't make any sense other than for the simple sake that it would create a movie.

"WE ARE CANCELLING THE...well...I'm not really sure what
we are cancelling, but I'm gonna creep you out with this stare!"

Apparently Idris Elba never learned how to
properly hold a firearm

To be honest, given all the drama in the NFL surrounding domestic violence centered around women, the movie comes at an awkward time, but one that will most likely earn it more money at the box office. The film treats the violent scenes against women with some respect, always making sure to paint Elba as the villain and not glamorizing his actions at all. That being said, Elba is just super creepy and I found the whole proceedings a bit disturbing that there really even needed to be a movie made about the subject. Those should be somewhat shocking words coming from a critic who often watches violent films, but this film in particular just kind of made me feel uncomfortable. Again, I think part of this is because Colin's plan of action was so loosely crafted that it was obvious he would never get away with it, but it was also just weird how far he was willing to go and why he would be doing this in the first place.

Clearly No Good Deed didn't resonate with me. And I think you would be hard pressed to find any audience member who really, really enjoyed it (unless they are hardcore Elba fans). If you're reading this, you come here for my opinion. My opinion on this film is that it's certainly not "bad" but it is one of the year's most forgettable films and that added with the sheer creepiness of everything makes this one a "skip" in my book.

Given the tame lineup of films for September coming up we might be wise to nickname the month "No Good Movie".

CONS:

• The script is pretty bad, particularly Elba's lines
• Just very creepy, and not in a good way. Why are there even movies about this sort of thing?
• Colin's "plan" or lack there of really leads the film to have a lack of direction and once it's all said and done it doesn't make too much sense
• The movie does a poor job, despite trying, of informing us about Colin's past
• Incredibly forgettable

PROS:

• Elba does "creepy villain" well
• Henson makes a strong heroine that, other than her initial decisions, is pretty smart
• The ending/twist is well orchestrated and saved the movie a bit in my eyes
• Some well filmed fight scenes and chase scenes

Rath's Review Score: 5/10