Force of Nature

It is sad to see one of the last great actors Mel Gibson no longer headlining major Hollywood studio films and now having to pursue a career in direct-video and productions that are certainly more or less successful (Dragged Across Concrete (2018), The Professor and the Madman (2019)). Force of Nature is thus released directly on VOD in the United States and is similar to a modest B-series in which we find this actor relayed to a second anecdotal and rather static role.

The very simplistic plot of the film follows the journey of a policeman, Cardillo (Emile Hirsch), who is in charge of protecting, with policewoman Joss (Stephanie Cayo), the residents of a building trapped after a hurricane. Parallel to this meteorological disaster, a group of criminals is attempting to steal paintings from the same building. The action thus takes place in practically the same place except for the introductory scene, one of flashbackrelative to police officer Cardillo, and the one at the end, which takes place in a hospital. Director Michael Polish (Northfolk (2003), The Scent of Success (2009), Illusions (2015)...) does his best to deliver a gripping thriller but Cory Miller's script and an obvious lack of budget make this film more like a B-series despite the presence of an interesting cast and above all the presence of the true revelation Stephanie Cayo, who alone deserves to see this film.

It's interesting to see the many similarities between the very successful Alexandre Aja Crawl (2019) in which a young woman is trapped in a house looking for her father and those few people also trapped in a building while in both films a violent hurricane leads to the evacuation of an entire city. Unfortunately, Michael Polish's direction lacks the rhythm and audacity to bring this story to life. Despite the presence of Emile Hirsch, Mel Gibson, Kate Bosworth, David Zayas and Stephanie Cayo and a wild and dangerous animal, the action scenes are so few and so bored that they are cruelly lacking in originality. So we understand better its release on VOD even if the theaters are currently closed.

Force of nature is therefore a real disappointment and we advise you to wait for its broadcast on TV rather than renting it on VOD when it will be released soon in France.

Force of Nature
Directed by Michael Polish
Produced by Randall Emmett, George Furla, Shaun Sanghani, Mark Stewart, Luillo Ruiz
Written by Cory Miller
Starring Emile Hirsch, Kate Bosworth, Mel Gibson, David Zayas, Stephanie Cayo, Will Catlett, Swen Temmel, Tyler Jon Olsen, Jorge Luis Ramos
Cinematography : Jayson Crothers
Edited by Paul Buhl, Raúl Marchand Sánchez
Production companies : Grindstone Entertainment Group, Emmett Furla Oasis Films, SSS Entertainment, The Pimienta Film Co.
Distributed by Lionsgate
Release date : June 30, 2020 (Direct to video)
Running time : 91 minutes
Seen on 30 June 2020

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