Avarice

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source: Avarice

Thomas (Nick Atkinson) and Susan (Priscilla-Anne Jacob) appear to be having marital issues as she says she is taking a vacation from him in Sydney. (I believe this takes place in Australia.) There are two people dressed in black at the door of these overly wealthy people. We later discover his name is Kane (Ryan Panizza) and the woman is Reed (Alexandra Nell). We hear gunshots and Susan takes one between the eyes. We cut away to a different family. They too have marital issues from his infidelity. Kate Matthews (Gillian Alexy) is a professional archer. They have a moody teen daughter Sarah (Téa Heathcote-Marks). They plan on going away for a family vacation so mom and dad can patch things up. While there, they run into Reed and Kane one night by no accident. Dad is whisked away while the women model some stylish black zip ties. If you peaked at the DVD cover you have a pretty good idea what happens next or if you stayed awake during the archery scene. Film was less than gripping. Reed with a gash on the side of her face had the only character. Predictable. Guide: F-word. No sex. Or nudity.

It could have been good. But too many things were just bad. She uses a bow for a house fight. A bow is not really good for short distances, and it requires a lot of room. There were quite a few bad guys and they wanted $10 million? Seems a little low per person for the risk they are taking. The father is portrayed as a smart guy, but when he talks about two retina scans and gets a box, he has no clue what's in it. The daughter gets out through a window. Double-whammy: The bad guys made sure all doors are locked but they forgot the windows? And why didn't she get out with her daughter? Then she overwhelms a guy with a meat tenderizer and let's him lie there. Doesn't go for his weapons and doesn't beat the snot out of him even though he threatened to carve her. In her own house. Later on she walks past several people she killed and doesn't draw her arrows for more ammo (I counted at least five she could have retrieved). She doesn't take their guns either. She escapes from her bounds twice by slipping out. Sorry, highly unbelievable. Zip ties are strong and tight. In the end, she has a knife in her leg but reaches for the arrow instead. Her husband had an affair with his business partner's wife and basically did nothing to help with the home invasion, so why is everything good again afterwards? He is forgiven because she did all the work during an attack? I found most actions implausible. Maybe I would freeze out of fear in such a situation, but I doubt I would walk past a gun or knife when my only weapon is a bow. The story was entertaining enough not to regret the time spent, but I couldn't take the movie seriously.

No pun intended - I mean it does hit the target from time to time. But it could have been ... well better! By hitting its target harder. Of course many things are predictable and you may wonder why the having a hostage thing is not played out better ... but hey if it had been, we wouldn't have a movie ... or not a long one that is. I was not surprised by one of the twists (bigger ones) towards the end. It was quite obvious - unfortunately the actors/characters we are supposed to root for are quite ... well bland to say the least. No offense, but it is not enough to make us really get behind them ... although it would make sense ... bow and arrow and all that. And no don't question how she got arrows that are deadly ... I didn't.

Low budget should not necessarily mean poor script and very unlikely character psychology. I was expecting a female "Taken" protagonist kicking the ass of a gang of plausible criminals. Very disappointed at the bunch of clumsy low IQ thugs she easily defeats despite their guns, using a mere bow and arrow (and a meat tenderizer!) The award of ridicule goes to the scarface female extortionist "who has been in Syria" and feels obliged to use the F word in each sentence she utters. Her eventual demise shows how unprofessional she actually is, making one wonder how she could survive her opex missions... Do not waste your time.

Ok, I first must say I love Aussie and UK people. But honestly you can count the good movies or even television on one hand. Well, maybe not lol. I mean the one show about the criminal, separated, with daughter, something to do with letter M, I think lol, it was not super terrible. But it did not last long here. It is kinda amazing that the rest of the world just can't seem to make good movies or television. This was no different. You get three stars for some effort, mostly the bow. Which only makes sense in country where you have given up your rights to fire arms. Funny how the bad guys will always have them lol. Oh yea, they don't obey laws lol. Why you have the right to protect yourself. Acting, well if you are looking for that, skip it. If you are not Australian, skip it. You will thank me for saving you time, which is the most precious thing in your world. You can't get it back. Use it wisely.

Not bad overall, as a low budget action thriller, Australian flavor at that. I'll let other reviewers give you the plot details. I'll focus on impressions. Nice locales. Some menacing home invader bad guys. Acting is decent, not great. Story is but simplistic and done before in various flavors. But the movie will hold your interest. And offers a real twist with archery action angle. Now can arrows really outfly bullets?? Of course not, but who wants to spoil the fun. Just enjoy. The lead Gillian Alexa playing the archer Kate Matthews does a creditable job, but is slow at first to win you over in her character until the bad guys show up. But I think she's kinda cute, so I give her a strong pass. Lol Heck, by the end of the movie, even the bad guys seem to have been impressed with her. Check the movie score at the end, "Brave" by singer Candice Callaghan. Almost has a Christian rock type melody to it. Very nice. Avarice 2? Who knows. But this one is not too bad as a fun action entertainment for 90 minutes.

Avarice has a solid story with something quite new, bows and arrows. So the heroine is like a cornered animal and she uses her skills to take out lots of bad guys with her arrows in order to save her family. The film has heart and thrilling moments, which I think outweigh the action. Similar to other movies where kidnappers break in to a home and tie everyone up, but instead of the father rescuing the family this has the mother doing that which again is new and I really liked it. It does start off a bit slow but when it gets going it doesnt stop, the chase in the forest is the best bit and I'm thinking they could do a sequel. This was good.

John V. Soto is an Australian indie auteur who likes to genre hop. That is, his productions to date tend to change category from release to release. What they all tend to have in common however are the tell-tales of a low-budget indie namely: the excessive use of strange background music to fill gaps; excessive use of garish lighting (greens, blues) to add excitement to unexciting scenes; wooden scripts; and wooden acting. What makes AVARICE stand out is the very smart idea of a professional archer caught in a DIE HARD situation, and then using her mad skills to overcome the predicament. It's a clever idea, but the cleverness lasts for about 10 minutes, tops, and then we are right back where we started.((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))