Today’s quick review: Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever. Ex-FBI agent Jeremiah Ecks (Antonio Banderas) gets drawn back into the business when he learns that his wife Vinn (Talisa Soto) is still alive and has married Robert Gant (Gregg Henry), a powerful criminal. To find out where she is, Ecks will have to catch Sever (Lucy Liu), a rogue assassin who has kidnapped Vinn’s son Michael (Aidan Drummond) as part of her plan to get revenge against Gant.
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever is an action movie that pits a persistent FBI agent against a dangerous killer. Ballistic aims to be a sleek action film with plenty of guns, thrills, and attitude. It succeeds to a certain extent, with light but flashy action and a fine pair of leads. However, an overly ambitious setup and weak plot logic make it a difficult movie to follow, and its few strengths aren’t enough to make up for its weaknesses.
To its credit, Ballistic delivers action and lots of it. The fights are choreographed fairly well, Lucy Liu gets the chance to show off her skill, and Antonio Banderas manages to hold his own. The close combat is probably the film’s cleanest stunt work, but its car chases, firefights, and explosions are just as plentiful, if not as weighty. The action is never as sleek as Ballistic makes it out to be, but it does manage to be simple fun.
Ballistic is on shakier ground when it comes to its plot. The movie is ambitious with its setup, working in not only the titular rivalry, but Ecks’ missing wife, Vinn’s kidnapped child, Sever’s quest for revenge, and a high-tech assassination device sought by Gant. Ballistic never does a good job explaining any of this. Instead it opts to hint at facts that should have been clear from the start and set up revelations that have no impact.
As such, Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever gets caught between two extremes. In terms of tone and focus, it’s a popcorn action flick with a heavy dose of early 2000s attitude, a breezy watch for the right type of action fan. But its plot is much more elaborate than it’s capable of delivering on, making the movie a confusing watch for anyone actually trying to follow it. Fans of pure action may want to take a look, but most others should steer clear.
For a similar flavor of no-holds-barred action with bigger thrills, try The Rock or Face/Off. For an action movie with the same attitude, try War or The One. For a Lucy Liu movie with more personality, a sharper plot, and a dash of comedy, try Lucky Number Slevin.
3.7 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 5.5 for popcorn action held back by a weak plot.