Today’s quick review: Tracers. Bumping into Nikki (Marie Avgeropoulos) introduces Cam (Taylor Lautner), a New York City bike courier, to the world of parkour. Cam begins to practice on his own, and his skills soon earn him a spot in Nikki’s crew, who practice parkour not only as a hobby but as a way to commit crimes. With $15,000 in debt to pay off, Cam embraces his new, criminal lifestyle but grows suspicious of the crew’s leader, Miller (Adam Rayner).
Tracers is an action movie with an emphasis on parkour. Tracers follows amateur parkour practicioner Cam as he goes deeper into a parkour-based gang of thieves. The movie offers fairly good action, but its weak cast and predictable plot keep it from doing anything more. Tracers does manage to avoid any glaring blunders; it simply lacks the interesting characters or plot twists that would take it to the next level.
Tracers’ distinguishing feature is its action. Cam, Nikki, and the rest of Miller’s crew fling themselves across rooftops, cars, and all kinds of obstacles in their attempts to move as quickly as possible. Parkour gives the chase scenes a nice sense of momentum, and the stunts are impressive yet plausible. However, the action is essentially limited to parkour, with only a little gunplay thrown in for variety.
Give Tracers a shot if you’re willing to trade some quality for a different kind of action. Tracers is far from a standout movie, and most viewers would be better off looking elsewhere in the action genre. But for parkour-fueled chase scenes and a competent if basic plot, Tracers has some merit. For another niche action movie with a bike courier lead, check out Premium Rush.
5.6 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.0 for decent action but little else.