In interviews promoting The 355, star and producer Jessica Chastain talked about she never saw women in these sorts of kick butt, spy action thrillers that are so common and lead by men, so she set out to make one herself. She accomplished that. If making a spy action flick starring women that has all the fun and flaws of the ones they make with men then she was successful. The 355 was fun but also fairly predictable, filled with the sorts of plot holes and clunky script problems that we are used to in these movies. I guess that's progress?
She put together a killer cast. These women not only hold their own as action stars but they are all very good actors meaning they can sell this film despite the its weaknesses. I enjoyed seeing them on screen, together they make a great team. They all delivered on the action as well.
But as I mentioned the story is kinda clunky and there were too many times I rolled my eyes at what the characters were doing or could see exactly what was coming. The end "twists" were completely predictable. So often choices being made by the characters felt more like they were being made to advance the story and less because a character would actually do it.
Now when it comes to the action sequences the film delivers. I was able to forgive some of the film's shortcomings when it got into high gear. It was entertaining. Maybe forgettable. The ending feels rushed and tacked on. I might have just preferred the credits came when the main story ended instead of the final shenanigans which didn't feel like the added anything.
Still would I watch another film with this team in place? I would. I'd hope it would be better executed though.
The 355
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong'o, Penelope Cruz, Diane Kruger, Fan Bingbing, Sebastian Stan, Edgar Ramirez, Jason Flemyng, John Douglas Thompson
Director: Simon Kinberg
Writers: Theresa Rebeck, Simon Kinberg
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