Army Of One
[info headline="Release Date"]15 December 2020[/info] [info headline="Language"]English[/info] [info headline="IMDb Rating"]6.1[/info] [info headline="Genre"]Action, Drama[/info] [info headline="Cast"]Ellen Hollman, Matt Passmore, Stephen Dunlevy[/info] [button src="#"]Watch Trailer[/button] [youtube src="LnJ6U7N8sV4"/]
Army Of One is the American English Hollywood action film 2020, Released on December 15, 2020. Directed by Stephen Durham, Staring Ellen Hollman, Matt Passmore, Stephen Dunlevy and Others.
Storyline: Brenner (Ellen Hollman), a special forces Army ranger, is seeking retaliation for the murder of her husband at the hands of cartel members in Stephen Durham’s Army of One. Unfortunately, the bloody, hammy, and clichéd antics of Army of One fall short. While it is understandable that Army of One doesn’t have the budget or desire to fulfill the same suspense level as Park Chan-wook’s Lady Vengeance or Coralie Fargeat’s Revenge, the film is unable to exploit the revenge formula or B-movie territory with great success.
Brenner is happily married to Dillion (Matt Passmore), a wounded police detective. Looking to get away from the stress of their jobs, they seek solace in the serenity of the backwoods of Alabama. But before savoring the tranquility, they make a stop at a local diner where they meet the uncongenial local folk, including the stout, pig-ignorant Butch (Gary Kasper) and his Janus-faced mother (Geraldine Singer). Butch and Mama are wary of Dillion and Brenner’s presence in the bucolic town, while Dillion and Brenner have suspicions about the other two.
While out hiking, the married couple comes across a secluded cabin hiding an illicit drug and gun storage room. Before getting a chance to flee, they are captured by the cartel and interrogated. The ruthless gang shoots Dillion and Brenner but neglected to check her pulse before throwing her body in an open grave. Brenner rises from the grave, physically and emotionally wounded, but fueled by choler and vengeance. Exercising her survival and combat skills she learned from being a distinguished Army ranger, Brenner hunts the people who murdered her husband until there’s not one body left standing.
Stephen Durham’s action vehicle is clearly on a familiar path, leading to a foreseeable destination. Even so, the rapid action sequences alone enliven an otherwise uneven and insipid revenge tale.
For the most part, Dillion and Brenner’s relationship is summed up by infectious giggles, quips, and kisses. Underneath this veneer of glossy romance, Dillion is plagued by unsavory memories of a police incident involving masked men. He even has a bodily scar reminding him of the incident. Woefully, such traumatic depth is left inhumed (there isn’t even a telling interaction where Dillion discloses his internal woe to Brenner, or he simply isn’t given the luxury of time).
During the first act, Brenner’s past is left fairly vague until she’s met with the tragic fate of her husband, and her newfound craving for self-seeking justice kicks in. After her husband’s demise, there are transient glimpses of Brenner’s time in the Army, albeit the glimpses have less to do with her unique combat skills and more to do with her doggedness.
Brenner’s trek for vengeance hinges on her husband’s death, which was generally swift and abrupt yet somehow bereft of any genuine shock. The absence of any palpable tension is a result of predictability, ineffective build-up, and hollow antagonists. Gary Kasper’s overdone performance as the witless, tractable goon fails to uphold a comminatory presence. While Geraldine Singer’s eerily composed performance as Mama is substantially solid, the reasoning behind why almost everyone in the community serves Mama’s interests is rather hazy, daft, and takes you out of the film.
The rather hokey screenplay, written by Mary Ann Barnes, David Dittlinger, Ellen Hollman, and Stephen Durham, is proof of the film’s tonal imbalance and bloatedness. Halfway through, there are more illicit affairs regarding Mama’s empire that come to light, conveniently and distractingly so. While Army of One isn’t meant to be an overly solemn tale of revenge where the protagonist deeply questions their morality, there is a paucity of suspense resulting from the familiar storytelling terrain and the enfeebled stakes.
The comprehensive forests and isolated Alabama lakes confine the protagonist to an immersive setting where everyone can wander without being seen. An environment this vast should’ve intensified the stakes and atmosphere. Yet, there’s never a sincerely trepidatious or empowering mood encompassing Brenner’s perilous quest because of her character’s invincibility and unexplored stoicism.
Solely as an action-revenge flick, Stephen Durham’s Army of One deploys a handful of well-choreographed action sequences involving sharpened sticks, Rambo-esque traps, and blood-stained fists, which are amusingly complemented by Hollman’s flinty delivery of cheesy one-liners. However, despite Hollman giving it her all as an action star and proving to be an army of one, the uninspired screenplay and flimsy execution leave this revenge film nearly defenseless from mediocrity..
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