60% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 125 reviews)
Runtime: 104 minutes
Directed by: John Woo
Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Kid Cudi, Harold Torres, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Yoko Hamamura
From: Lionsgate
A movie finally watched because I was to see it theatrically in December 2023 after returning from my annual sojourn to Kansas… no, that wasn’t when I was violently ill on the airline flight back home, that was in December 2024! Yes, I was ill two Decembers in a row. By the time I recovered in ’23, all the bad reviews were out and there was little motivation to even bother. However, it’s on Peacock-which I’m only subscribed to for the next week-and despite the reviews, it’s still John Woo.
Unfortunately, I will agree with the many that thought “Bah, humbug!” to the film. Many likely know the plot of Joel Kinnaman (w/ the improbable name BRIAN GODLOCK) losing a son to a drive-by shooting and he is shot in the throat while attempting to chase down the perpetrators, resulting in the damage to his vocal chords. Yes, that ruins his life, his relationship w/ Catalina Sandino Moreno ends, and carnage happens as he looks for revenge.
Yes, drive-by shootings are awful, killing innocent lives and many people struggle with the aftermath of tragedy. However, Rolling Thunder this isn’t in terms of revenge-o-matic films. To echo the thoughts of others, the “minimal dialogue overall & the lack of speech from the protagonist” was a hindrance. It was fine for the dissolution of the relationship between the main couple, but bad for the movie overall as it made the movie feel flat and dare I say, boring. It worked as “well” as the silent gimmick did for the lead in Mute—meaning, the gimmick didn’t work.
After the opening that’s made silly in part due to bad CG (a shame a genre legend is forced to use such devices) & some bizarre cinematic decisions-which were present throughout, e.g. the main villain’s lair and the perplexing decision to dance w/ his gal during the final act-it’s not until the second half that the crux of the action appears. It’s fine-not John Wick and not what you’d hope from the director, but the action was fine.
So were the performances; I haven’t seen much of Kinnaman, Kid Cudi, or Moreno, but they did their best with this material. I’m more familiar w/ Cudi’s movies than his music… as unfathomable as this will be to everyone, I couldn’t tell you if I’ve heard ANY of his songs! My not listening to any modern music is no lie or gimmick. Many moons ago I saw Moreno in Maria, Full of Grace; while a downbeat film, one day that needs a second visit & review as there are positive memories of the picture.
A shame that this was his first American movie since 2003’s Paycheck—that wasn’t great either yet at least was a funny, striking sort of bad. The score was good; that nor the action beats are enough for me to ever give Silent Night a recommendation.
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