Dead Man Down Review

Review: Dead Man Down

By Ashley Matthew

            Dead Man Down, released on March 8th, 2013 is a thriller film. The film stars Terrence Howard, Dominic Cooper, Noomi Rapace, Colin Farrell and Former WWE Superstar Wade Barrett. Dead Man Down is rated R and tells the story of two people seeking revenge on those who wronged them.

            The film starts off showing a crime boss named Alphonse Hoyt (Terrence Howard) discovering one of his crew members has been killed, leaving him with a mysterious note. As Alphonse struggles to discover the mystery of who is killing his crew and why they are doing this to him, he has no idea how close the person doing this to him really is. Meanwhile, one of his crew members, Victor (Colin Farrell) begins a friendship with his neighbor, Beatrice (Noomi Rapace) who later asks for Victor’s help. When he refuses to help her, she blackmails him with a video showing him murdering someone in his home. He then agrees to help her seek revenge on a man who disfigured her face in a car accident.

            Later in the film, Alphonse starts to catch on to the mystery of who is seeking revenge on him as other crew members of his continue to perish. Meanwhile, Beatrice and Victor’s relationship grows closer when Victor opens up to Beatrice about his past. After Victor keeps his promise to Beatrice to help her seek revenge, Victor must face another trial when one of Alphonse’s crew members, Darcy (Dominic Cooper) discovers who is seeking revenge on Alphonse, leading to a showdown. The film ends with Victor and Beatrice starting a new life together.

            While this film has interesting plot twists that keep viewers guessing as to what will happen next, the plot tends to run a bit slow at times. The acting was well-done for the most part. However, the chemistry between the characters of Victor and Beatrice sometimes came off awkward and unbelievable. Former WWE Superstar Wade Barrett does have some lines in the film and is featured more prominently than what is briefly shown of him in the trailer. However, some of the trailer scenes of the other cast members were not included in the actual film.