Disgraced U.S Secret Agent Nicolas Shaw (Barry Pepper) is pulled out of hiding one last time into a world of death and espionage. With his skills put to the ultimate test and a small window of time to save a former colleague, Nicolas must resort to desperate measures in order to complete one last mission. This is the premise for new spy thriller Trigger Point, which arrives on digital platforms in the UK on 12th July.
Over time the espionage action thriller has become a staple of our modern cinema world. Each year hundreds of films, following similar plots to Trigger Point are churned out for the masses. The problem for filmmakers is how to make their project stand out from the sea of clones, whereas the issue for viewers is to work out which almost identical property they should spend their time with. Were you to opt for Trigger Point, you would get a fairly standard genre film that doesn’t stray too far outside of the expected tropes and conventions. It wouldn’t be a waste of your time, but at the same time it doesn’t set the world alight.
The ace in Trigger Point’s backpocket is the work of Barry Pepper. For years Pepper has been a criminally under-utilised actor, so often stuck in supporting roles with only a handful of scenes. With Trigger Point he steps into the lead role and proves yet again why he should be the number one player on more production call sheets. Pepper has clearly read the brief for Trigger Point and does his absolute best at channeling his inner Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer. It’s a great performance, but it’s sadly one that really belongs in a different film as there isn’t a great deal to stretch either Pepper or the viewer.
This problem can be traced back to Trigger Point’s creators. Writer Michael Vickerman has made a career out of writing for ‘made for TV’ movies and obscure detective television shows. Director Brad Turner has a higher pedigree, having directed multiple episodes of 24, Hawaii Five-O, and Macgyver. His experience on such shows means that the action sequences are competently handled. However, as with Vickerman, it appears that all that time in the standardised and procedural environment of television has sucked some of the inventiveness out of everything; Trigger Point ultimately feels a bit bland.
Trigger Point riffs off of the Bourne films and a multitude of other famous espionage films, but never quite manages to match any of them. There’s a seed of a good idea within, and a great turn by Pepper, and yet disappointingly the execution is flat.
Signature Entertainment presents Trigger Point on Digital Platforms 12th July.
Trigger Point
Summary
A typically underused Barry Pepper finally gets his moment to shine, it’s just a shame that the quality of the script doesn’t match that of his performance. Die-hard spy thriller junkies will be content enough to while away eighty-five minutes, but others will struggle to connect and fully invest in a film that never really gets out of first gear.
