Movie Review: The Courier (2012)

The Courier

2012

Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Mickey Rourke, Lili Taylor, Josie Ho, Til Schweiger

Genre: Direct- to- DVD action

Plot: A specialist courier is hired to deliver a mysterious case to the underworld's most dangerous hitman

'B-Movie Package That Still Delivers, Despite Its Blemishes'

The Courier has received a mauling by critics and professional film reviewers and sites, as well as averaging a low aggregate IMDb rating, so bad they say and insist, but has this and does this stop me from viewing it? No, it hasn't; in fact, contrary to the negative reception, this one wasn't too bad and that it is a cut above many other straight- to- DVD action flicks, despite one or two flaws. The film's saving grace is Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who as ever, puts in 'A' for effort in his performances, and he was committed to the cause and alas, Morgan didn't disappoint me, once again. It also features Hong Kong actress Josie Ho, Mickey Rourke, Miguel Ferrer and Lily Taylor in additional roles.

The action is sparse and it operates and comes across more like a thriller and the film has drawn comparisons with The Trainspotter starring Jason Statum. The plot has Dean Morgan as the courier: a guy who lives in an apartment with a live rat that he treats as his pet, as well as delivers packages, money, documents etc who is approached by a mysterious man, one day, who offers him a job. The courier's task: to deliver a case to a man feared by the criminal underworld. When the courier refuses, the mysterious guy threatens his family and their lives are endangered. The courier has to deliver a briefcase to Evil Sivle and has just 60 hours to search for him.

Being a low-budget, independent B-movie, I think it did all right, although there are areas in which the film needs to be refined and a few tiny lapses in the story that ought to have been ironed out. The mystery aspect could have been dealt a little better and the plot was confusing as it was going in all kinds of directions, but the story held up for me and thanks to Dean Morgan, I was able to get into the movie. There were also 1 or 2 scenes that got my attention such as the gruesome torture scene involving the Courier and Mr & Mrs Capo and when The Courier manages to fight back and gets his vengeance against the assassins. The violence is adequate and not that bloody, which for an action B-movie was all right for me to endure. For an action movie also, it wasn't quite the action-packed spectacle I expected, but the action was moderate and not bad.

Gruff Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who was also the executive producer of this flick, shows he is cut out for action movies and alas, he should have landed bigger- budget based Hollywood roles. He's one of those actors who can pull off the action hero role, both in the physicality stakes with his burly stature, as well as perform as an actor. & in this movie, he did well.

Josie Ho was not very good as The Courier's sidekick and the film could have easily have done without her, I found her performance to be weak. Mystic Pizza's Lili Taylor and Miguel Ferrer (Robocop) show up as the lowlife husband and wife team of assassins, the Capos who are aiming to put a stop to the courier, with Mickey Rourke rounding up the villains. Rourke doesn't do or say much and only turns up at the very end of the movie to do battle with Morgan's protagonist and arguably, Taylor and Ferrer's characters ought to have been the main antagonists.

I was disenchanted with the ending, which left me wondering ''whatever happens next'' and the fact that the storyline with the courier finding his son was never resolved, but putting those issues aside, this was still a decent watch. I've seen a few of Jeffrey Dean Morgan's films already, - Watchmen, The Losers, Heist especially so far - and I'm liking this guy. He's one of those B-movie actors that I enjoy watching onscreen, who should have been destined for bigger things in the commercial box office realm, but unfortunately, he's been lumbered with B-movies and direct to DVD efforts. Although I do enjoy some of them.

Final Verdict:

But as a whole, this was entertaining and though it is sluggish, The Courier manages to hold it together, thanks to Jeffrey Dean Morgan's presence and efforts. It's not fantastic or awesome, but I still dug this one.


Overall: