Today’s quick review: Close. For her latest job, bodyguard Sam Carlson (Noomi Rapace) must babysit Zoe Tanner (Sophie Nelisse), a troublesome heiress, and deliver her to a safehouse in Zambia, where her stepmother Rima Hassine (Indira Varma) is trying to negotiate a major deal for the family’s mining company. But when assailants attack the safehouse and kill the rest of the security detail, it falls to Sam to save Zoe’s life and get her to safety.
Close is an action thriller about a closed-off bodyguard and the sheltered teenager she’s tasked with protecting. Close drops Sam and Zoe in a foreign country with no resources, no backup, and enemies who are willing to kill to get their hands on Zoe. The movie lands on the semi-realistic side of the action genre, with messy, personal combat and a genuine sense of peril. However, its plot and characters aren’t rich enough to take the movie farther.
Close’s greatest strength is its semblance of realism. The fights are dirty rather than extravagant. The situation has all the inconveniences and unknowns that a botched kidnapping attempt would entail. Sam makes for a more credible heroine than most, with a sharp mind and a useful skill set, but human limitations and vulnerabilities. None of these aspects are enough to make the movie outstanding, but they do give it a solid base to work with.
But Close doesn’t have the tools it needs to capitalize on its strengths. Sam and Zoe have the makings of nuanced characters, but their arcs don’t go anywhere interesting. The plot suffers from the lack of a clear villain, making it hard to track Sam and Zoe’s progress. There are a couple of decent plot twists, but Close has to rely on lucky breaks and weak leads to keep Sam and Zoe in the game. The plot also ends up being fairly bare-bones.
Close is a decent pick for action fans looking for something on the serious side of the genre. The movie has some subtle strengths that its flashier competition tends to miss out on, but ultimately it’s lacking the qualities that help an action movie stand out in a crowded field. Those looking for something impressive should pass. For another thriller starring Noomi Rapace, try Unlocked. For a more memorable take on a similar premise, try Taken.
5.7 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.0 to 6.5 for modest thrills without the depth or originality to do more.