I love watching female leads in action thrillers who can hold their own and Olga Kurylenko is one of them. I came across the trailer of The Courier (2019) recently and my interest was piqued because of the title and cast. The image of Olga Kurylenko on a motorcycle on the poster and knowing Gary Oldman is the villain further convinced me to watch the movie. This badass actress carries the action with the kind of physical confidence that makes her easy to watch.
Written by Andy Conway and Nicky Tate, and directed by Zackary Adler, The Courier is an action thriller that stars Olga Kurylenko, Gary Oldman, Dermot Mulroney, Amit Shah, William Moseley and other supporting actors. In this movie, Olga Kurylenko plays the role of a courier who is also a former special ops soldier sent to carry out a routine delivery in London.
On getting to her target, she discovers that the package she is carrying contains a deadly weapon. Her target is Nick Murch (Amit Shah), a witness who is supposed to testify against crime boss, Ezekiel Mannings (Gary Oldman).
Once the courier realises what she has been pulled into, she decides not to complete the delivery and instead helps Nick to escape upon noticing that his protection detail was compromised. The decision puts both of them in the middle of a violent hunt. They are both trapped in an underground parking garage filled with heavily armed men.
On an hour countdown to when police backup arrives, the armed men must either kill the courier and Nick or be arrested. Will they succeed in taking out the only witness that can put a dangerous crime lord behind bars? What is the courier's role in this debacle?
My Review And Rating
I've always enjoyed seeing badass actresses like Olga Kurylenko in action thrillers and she didn't disappoint in this one. And I had high hopes for this movie but my expectations were not fully met. This film has a decent setup and though the plot is familiar and solid, it does not do enough with it. The courier is a mysterious character and there isn't a backstory to justify her mystery. I wanted more than fragments about who she was and why she was so capable.
Olga Kurylenko is perfect in her role as the courier. Her fight scenes are entertaining to watch. The hand to hand fights, motorcycle sequences and improvised weapons kept me interested all through the ninety-nine minutes running time. Also, I liked the contrast between her character and the witness, Nick (Amit Shah). He is nervous, a nerd, helpless and clearly out of his depth while the courier remains focused even when everything is falling apart around them. It becomes a situation of the woman rescuing the man and not the other way around. Their situation gives the film a little humour without disturbing the danger.
The action sequences in this sort of thriller are the backbone and the ones in this movie are well done but it feels repetitive after the first two action scenes. Once the courier and Nick are trapped in the garage, the movie takes viewers in a circle from one confrontation to another. The courier fights and takes down one group of attackers, they escape and another group appears and the circle starts again. Still, the fight scenes are entertaining but the repetition takes away the tension.
Ever since I first watched Gary Oldman in movies, I realised he does better in villain roles and in this film, he was spectacular as a feared crime lord. The eye patch, the surroundings and his cold manner makes it clear that he's the bad guy. There's more to Ezekiel Mannings character but sadly this movie doesn't tell us more about or explore his criminal operations.
Even with the mentioned flaws, I had a decent time with The Courier and understand the mixed reviews online. Olga Kurylenko is convincing in the physical scenes and Amit Shah gives the film some personality. It is the sort of action thriller I would watch when I want something uncomplicated and fast-paced. I only wish the writing had matched the confidence Kurylenko brings to the movie. The film has enough ingredients for a much more memorable thriller but it settles for being a reasonably entertaining one.
Rating this movie, I’d give it 6.5 out of 10 stars.
All images above are screenshots from the movie
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Rating: 65/100
