The history of cinema is littered with films which flopped at the Box Office. Heaven’s Gate and Ishtar are two of the most famous examples but there are numerous films every year which either suffer the same fate or fail to even get a theatrical release. Granted, many of these films are absolute bilge, getting a cinema run and quality don’t necessarily go hand in hand; ask Paul Rudd. Momentum took just £46 in its opening weekend in the UK, and whilst its far from being a classic, it’s an entertaining action film.
When Alex (Olga Kurylenko) is asked by her former partner Kevin (Colin Moss) to do one last job she reluctantly agrees. She’s unmasked by, and kills, one of her co-conspirators during the job and things just rapidly go downhill from there. It turns out it’s not just diamonds they’re stealing but an electronic device a senator (Morgan Freeman) is keen to get his hands on. He send Mr Washington (James Purefoy) to track them down, forcing Alex into a deadly game of cat and mouse.
Whilst Stephen S. Campanelli’s debut feature truly bombed at the box office it’s a far better film than many which regularly adorn multiplexes. Filmed in Cape Town, production values are high and the action is fast and mostly entertaining. The dialogue can be clunky at times, as can some of the acting, but it’s only to be it’s superior to most of the action genre. Momentum is hardly a masterpiece by any means but it’s an entertaining, and a decent cast makes it well worth 90 minutes of your time.
Momentum is released on DVD and Blu-ray by Signature Entertainment on Monday.
