Today’s quick review: Kill Ratio. While negotiating a deal in an Eastern European nation on the cusp of democracy, telecom executive Gabrielle Martin (Amy Huberman) and fixer James Henderson (Tom Hopper) are trapped in their hotel by a military coup led by the notorious General Lazar (Nick Dunning). James must use his combat skills to protect Gabrielle and the other Americans from Lazar’s soldiers long enough to find a way to safety.
Kill Ratio is a budget action movie that drops a pair of Americans into the middle of a coup in a foreign country. Shucking his persona as a lax, selfish assistant, James rises to the challenge of the armed takeover of the hotel using skills learned in a past Gabrielle didn’t know he had. Kill Ratio delivers a modest amount of action but otherwise fails to impress. A bare-bones plot, weak acting, and unspectacular action all hold it back.
Kill Ratio’s budget shows in everything from its acting to its special effects to its sound mixing. The cut corners are easy to spot, and while they aren’t enough to derail the movie completely, they are enough to set the bar low. Minor faults include generic masked soldiers, thin characterization, and an absurd amount of freedom for James and Gabrielle to move around the locked-down hotel. The overall execution is passable but never impressive.
As far as story goes, Kill Ratio does not bring much to the table. The visible effects of the coup are limited to the one hotel, which somehow contains all the key players in the struggle for an entire country. The film tries to squeeze some drama out of James’ ambiguous status as a CIA operative, but there’s no real consequence to the question either way. Kill Ratio boils down to an uninspired game of hide-and-seek in a dull environment.
What Kill Ratio does shave to offer is a decent amount of action. There are no truly impressive fights, but the skirmishes between James, Gabrielle, and the soldiers are enough to deliver up some modest thrills. Once again, Kill Ratio does not stand out from the crowd, but it does avoid any glaring missteps. Hand-to-hand combat in tight quarters and occasional bouts of gunplay are the only times when the film feels like it pulls its weight.
Watch Kill Ratio only if you’re a fan of budget action for its own sake. Kill Ratio tells a coherent story and offers some basic action but manages little else. Most viewers would be better off with one of the many other action flicks out there. For budget action of a similar caliber, try Extraction, The Saint, Battle Drone, or Incoming. For a more successful, iconic take on a similar premise, Die Hard.
4.0 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 4.5 for some action but little else.