Delayed Reaction: Without Remorse

Premise: A Navy SEAL sets out on a revenge mission after his wife and unborn child are killed by hitmen.

 

I'm pretty sure I begin all my reactions of Michael B. Jordan movies like this, but I'll keep saying it until it happens: Michael B. Jordan should be the biggest star in the world by now. He's a good great actor, dripping with charisma. He's handsome and has a physique that rivals any action movie star you'll find. At the end of the day, the career he has is nothing to scoff at, but it feels like he should have the right of first refusal for any franchise movie getting made by now. He's always got Creed, which he's the face of, and Killmonger is one of the great one-and-done superhero movie performances. In hindsight, I bet Marvel sure wishes they hadn't killed him off. He'd be perfect for an antihero rehabilitation in the Black Panther sequel now that Chadwick Boseman has passed. Oh well.

 

Without Remorse is a decent franchise play for Michael B. Jordan. He certainly comes out of this movie looking great. He's a strong lead for the film. He's ripped as hell and a complete badass. I couldn't ask for anything more from him in the movie. I'd recommend this movie the same way that I'd recommend Extraction with Chris Hemsworth (although that movie is more chill). It's good for explosions, expensive set pieces, and Michael B. Jordan in the middle of it all.

 

This is based on a 1993 Tom Clancy book though, and you can really feel it. The inciting events, revenge mission, and overall politics all feel dated. The story isn't bad, exactly. I just watched it feeling like we've moved past a lot of this. Introducing the pregnant wife so she can be killed to motivate the lead character is gauche these days. I guess it's better than using her rape as a motivation, but it's not much better.

 

Then there's the big reveal that this is all a convoluted scheme to start a new Cold War, because the economy is healthier when we can unite behind a common villain. I guess I understand that reasoning on a very basic level, but it reminds me a lot of the 30 Rock joke in which Jack explains that much of NBC's money is going toward finding a way to make in 1997 again through science or magic.

 

Without Remorse makes a lot of sense for Amazon, which has also made a hit out of the Jack Ryan series and Bosch. This likely does solidify Michael B. Jordan with a demographic he was missing before. Perhaps this is the last move to move him into the stratosphere after a number of Oscar near misses like Fruitvale, Just Mercy, and Black Panther. The "what can't he do" list is getting even smaller. Despite some pretty good action and the always stellar Jordan though, I just found this movie a little too generic and dated.

 

Verdict: Weakly Don't Recommend