Man of War Review: This Guy Means Business

Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.

When it comes to new action flicks, I’m not very picky. If a movie looks good, I’ll usually give it a shot, so when I first heard about Man of War, I was intrigued. Not only did the trailer promise a hell of a time, but the story also seemed right up my alley. That’s a pretty tough combination to beat in any genre, so of course, I just had to check this movie out as soon as I got the chance.

Man of War was directed and co-written by William Kaufman, and it stars LaMonica Garrett, Jason Patric, Andrew Howard, and Daniel Bernhardt. In the film, a young woman named Riley is kidnapped by Russian mercenaries in Ukraine, and her adopted father, elite special forces veteran Michael Connor, is on a mission to bring her back.

It’s a simple, effective hook that’s worked multiple times before–like in the 2008 classic Taken and the recent gem *The Furious–but this time, it’s much more of a mixed bag. Don’t get me wrong, Man of War* isn’t a bad movie. In fact, I walked away pretty happy. The problem is it’s just not particularly memorable.

Let’s start at the beginning. Man of War doesn’t waste time establishing Riley and Michael’s relationship. It begins with Michael finding out that the young woman has been kidnapped, and in a lot of films, that would be a huge mistake. We need to know what’s at stake, so skipping the backstory could’ve easily sapped this story of all its emotional weight.

Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.

But LaMonica Garrett doesn’t let that happen. He plays Michael with such intensity that he instantly sells the guy’s concern for his adopted daughter and his determination to rescue her at any cost. His no-nonsense demeanor is all the setup we need, so when he begins making plans to enter Ukraine, you’ll be cheering for him every step of the way. It’s an incredibly auspicious start, and as Man of War goes on, LaMonica Garrett never takes his foot off the gas.

He maintains that unflinching dedication to his cause until the credits begin to roll, so you won’t forget just how much this means to his character. He makes you believe that every second matters, that every step is important, so even the slower character moments take on a palpable air of life-or-death urgency. On top of that, Garrett also has the physicality to make you believe he can take the mercenaries out single-handedly, so when the guns start blazing, this movie gets even better.

Unfortunately though, Man of War begins to lose steam about a third of the way through. As entertaining as it is, it’s just not very inventive. For example, although the firefights are thrilling, they’re not much different from the numerous other shootouts in cinematic history. They follow the same basic blueprint we’ve seen countless times before, so they won’t stick with you very long.

Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.

Along similar lines, while LaMonica Garrett nails the lead character’s unwavering resolve, he doesn’t bring much else to the role. Beyond his commitment to rescue Riley, Michael actually isn’t all that interesting, and the more time we spend with him, the more apparent that becomes. To be fair, he doesn’t have to carry the narrative load all by himself, as he picks up a few buddies along the way, but despite some promising introductions, they all end up being fairly generic too.

The second act of Man of War is a bit of a yawner, but thankfully, the film somewhat redeems itself in act three. The finale goes all out on the action, and the bullets don’t stop flying until the fight is over. The sheer scale of this mayhem more than makes up for any deficiencies in execution (like some hand-to-hand moments with excessive camera cuts), so even if you’ve already checked out emotionally, you’ll have no trouble getting back on board.

As I alluded to before, that third act left me with a smile on my face, so I’d be lying if I said I didn’t ultimately enjoy this movie. But even with that awesome finale, Man of War still never becomes anything more than action cinema junk food. Sure, it’s fun in the moment, but apart from the last 15–20 minutes or so, you won’t be thinking about it a few days, or even a few hours, after the credits begin to roll. The film is just too unoriginal for too long, so while I’d say it’s worth a watch for fans who can’t get enough of this genre, more casual viewers won’t be missing much if they skip it.

Man of War is set to hit VOD July 3.