The film gives a strong portrayal of a tyrannical state where people live in fear of questioning their government; several characters hide their tears in the face of the truth in fear of persecution.
The dominant mantra that ‘crime cannot exist in paradise’ explores the theme of courage, can Leo Demidov find the strength to oppose tyranny when he uncovers a child serial killer in the midst of Moscow, whose tracks have been covered by agents of the state. The gritty backdrop of fear and firing squads is this movies real strength, but the plot is a major let down.
When the first victim is revealed the movie is set for a gruesome manhunt, but it fails to live up to the chase as it stays focussed on cloaks and daggers instead of building on the crime thriller. The killer is even given some tardy psychological background when he’s revealed as a psycho with a towel and a bag of sweets, could we not come up with something better than a peado with a bag of toffees and a travel pass.
The movie also concludes with a life lesson that love is in fact a pragmatic consequence of environment, so the film which starts out with a romantic vibe fails to win hearts or stimulate minds.
I guess you should see this movie if you like to see actions scenes involving Tom Hardy using a knife, or if you like action scenes with Tom Hardy punching someone in the face, or if you like action scenes with Tom Hardy fighting in the mud, or maybe you just want to see Tom Hardy kicking ass in a different accent. Otherwise if you can control your popcorn addiction for a week it’s worth giving this one a miss as it doesn’t offer a whole lot more than fancy dress prepared for Netflix subscriptions.