Today’s quick review: The Heavy. Seven years ago, Mitchell “Boots” Mason (Gary Stretch) went to prison because of his brother Christian’s (Adrian Paul) testimony. Now Mitchell works as muscle for Anawalt (Stephen Rea), a powerful criminal, and tries to stay clear of Inspector Dunn (Vinnie Jones), the crooked cop who put him away. His life gets even more complicated when he becomes part of a plot to assassinate Christian, now a prominent politician.
The Heavy is a budget action movie about an ex-con walking down a dark path. The Heavy follows Mitchell Mason as he deals with loose ends from his past, including his rocky relationship with his brother and the consequences of his time in prison. The movie features interesting conflicts and solid individual scenes. Its story is not groundbreaking, but it does have enough going on to hook fans of the budget action genre.
However, The Heavy has structural problems that hold it back. The individual conflicts are promising, but the connective tissue holding them together is flimsy. The plot is a jumble of unrelated ideas that the viewer has to piece together, and the movie’s attempts at nonlinear storytelling muddy the waters even more. The handful of action scenes are also lackluster, with minimal fight choreography and no real sense of purpose.
The Heavy has the same type of setup as other budget action movies, but its execution leaves something to be desired. Fans of the genre will appreciate what it does with the resources at its disposal, at least in terms of character work and tension. But the combination of confusing storytelling and a weak payoff is enough to undermine The Heavy’s best efforts and make it an easy movie to skip.
For a more nuanced crime drama about a criminal trying to get his life together, try Redemption. For a more interesting budget action movie about a debt collector, try The Debt Collector. For a more stylish slice of British crime, try Snatch or The Gentlemen. For a budget action movie that puts a similar premise to better use, try Avengement.
[4.9 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473364/). I give it a 5.5 for a jumbled story and underwhelming action.