Director – James Watkins (Black Mirror, Eden Lake)
Starring – James McAvoy (Split, Victor Frankenstein), Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate, Freaks of Nature), and Scoot McNairy (Invincible, A Quiet Place Part II)
Release Date – 2024
Rating – 2.5/5
Actor James McAvoy really impressed me when he appeared in M. Night Shyamalan’s Split. I never really paid attention to him or his career until that point but once I had seen Split I immediately started thinking about the previous films he had appeared in. He’s a fantastic actor but the intensity and dedication it took to bring Split to life on screen is nothing short of brilliant.
I’ve tried to watch all his films since Split and up to this point I’ve done a fairly good job. A few weeks back I received a copy of Speak No Evil on blu and added it to my watch list. I really wanted to move it to the top of the list but I decided to hold off and watch it in order that I received it.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows an American couple that recently moved to London and is on vacation in Italy meet a British couple. The two pairs hit it off and the American couple is invited to the British countryside to spend time with the other couple. They agree and set off to an idyllic country retreat. However, some fun in the countryside turns odd when some red flags appear from their new friends. They chalk it up to a different country with different customs but soon learn the deadly reason they were invited. **Spoiler Alert**
Speak No Evil didn’t do it for me. McAvoy once again killed it with his performance but the story is painfully dull, predictable, and far too long for the film that it is. I know this is a remake of a 2022 film but after seeing this remake I doubt I will want to watch the original.
The acting in this one is great, be it, a little one sided. McAvoy once again delivers a powerful and intense performance that will be talked about for years to come. He supporting cast is solid as well but nowhere near as memorable as McAvoy. With that being said, the characters are not very likable. In fact, I spent most of the movie fantasizing about how McAvoy’s character would kill them.
The story for this one starts out so fucking dull. We get what feels like most of the film spent on character development and building what is already a very predictable story. Anyone with any common sense knows what is going to happen yet we have over an hour spent slowly building to it. The pointless dialogue, the insanely boring scenes, and going nowhere mundane tasks makes it a difficult film to finish. The last leg of the film is a lot of fun but the violence is not enough to save it.
Finally, the film has a lot of beautiful effects, practical and computer generated, during the last act of the film which I really enjoyed. It’s not a gory film but the violence is a lot of fun. If the entire film had this sort of energy throughout the entire thing it would have been way more enjoyable. Overall, Speak No Evil is a long winded film that has nothing to really say. It’s predictability and unlikable characters made it difficult for me to finish. While I did enjoy the cat and mouse aspect of the ending, I still cannot recommend this one. Skip it!
