Age Of Kill Review (15) – In UK cinemas, Friday 12th June, 2015 before moving to the home formats on Monday 15th June, 2015.
Age Of Kill Review
Director: Neil Jones.
Cast: Martin Kemp, Phil Davis, April Pearson, Anouska Mond, Dani Dyer, Patrick Bergin, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Bruce Payne, Donna Air, Lucy Pinder.
Certifcate: 15.
Running Time: 85 minutes.
Synopsis: AGE OF KILL is an action thriller about an ex-sniper who is instructed by an unidentified caller to kill six people over the course of one day, in order to save his daughter.
Age Of Kill is the latest in a long line of action thrillers from Jonathan Sothcott‘s Richwater Films stable, and follows the successful Vendetta, starring Danny Dyer, and last year’s We Still Kill The Old Way, which featured Ian Ogilvy, Alison Doody and Steven Berkoff. We’re in familiar territory here with Spandau Ballet bassist and actor Martin Kemp leading the way as special-ops sniper Sam Blake, who after discovering that his teenage daughter (played by Dani Dyer), has been kidnapped by a crazed gunman. To get her back, he must kill six targets, every hour, on the hour. What follows is an intense ride of mayhem as Blake battles against time to get his beloved daughter to safety before the psychotic madman on the end of the phone carries out his promise.
Sound familiar? Indeed, the plot is very similar to the Liam Neeson actioner Taken, which did okay for the Irish actor a few years back, and then fizzled out with its two very mediocre sequels. The twist to Age Of Kill is the 24 and the ‘Simon Says‘ element to it, which will of course remind you of the third Die Hard film. Then there’s bits of Speed in there, mixed up with some Saw, and then some Bourne and Bond thrown in for good measure, with a ever such a slight sprinkling of The Football Factory. This all adds up to a pretty decent little action film from director Neil Jones who clearly has a gift for putting together some nifty action sequences that feature your John Woo-seque slo-mo, and some stylish action set pieces, which almost always deliver. Some particular positive praise also has to be said of the brilliant camera work and cinematography on display here from Ismael Issa, who also worked on We Still Kill The Old Way. His use of flare, available light and some superb flash lighting in the disused prison scenes are worthy of mention and bring a high gloss sheen to the film.
Sure there are some negative aspects, and we do have to mention them. Some of the acting is questionable in places, and the film does take a little while to get going, but once it does, it retains its pace all of the way up to the very open, but very satisfying ending.
Stand-outs on the acting front have to go to Kemp who is solid in this, perhaps his biggest role as a leading man since The Krays, the 1990 biopic in which he starred with his brother and fellow Spandau member, Gary. The actor is on screen for 99% of the time in Age Of Kill, and captivates in nearly every scene.
For a low-budget, though high-octane, British action film with surprisingly big production values, Age Of Kill is a film that won’t overly delight the critics, but is perfect for that post-pub visit on a Friday night to slap on with your mates.
Age Of Kill (Platform Entertainment) is in cinemas and Digital/Vod on 12th June and on DVD/Blu-ray 15th June’
