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samuelregueira
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Bajo cero (2021)
Sense of justice saves this Assault on Precinct 13 (sort of) revisit
SPOILERS FOR BOTH THIS FILM AND MIGUEL ÁNGEL VIVAS'S 'TU HIJO'
I was astonished to find very harsh reviews in this film, non other than a mild revisit of the very classic Carpenter's flick Assault on Precinct 13, with his own ideas and highlights. If you enjoy either that classic or the Fishburne remake, you may find quite entertaining this film, with his own pros and cons.
The movie is far from being a masterpiece but lands in many aspects. The interpretations are superb (Javier Gutierrez hits another score in his career, Patrick Criado also succeeds in his role, Karra Elejalde is as great as usual and Luis Callejo proves he needs more than supporting roles to prove his best, he is an underrated actor in Spain that will add many layers to any character he portrays, even if this Napoleon Wilson in particular, a very difficult one to draw, could have been more consistent and less contradictory in some of his actions).
Also, the setting in the armored van helps on the claustrophobic tone the director Lluis Quilez explicitly looks for and, even if not always hitting in the mark (specially while transmitting the freezing cold, which looks crucial given the title of the movie), the intentions make up for the final result which, all in all, is a very enjoyable and harmless action/suspense film to watch.
As another reviewer pointed out, the sense of justice in the end saves a dangerous spot the movie barely looks at. See, like Miguel Angel Vivas's 'Tu hijo' (Your son), the twist of the movie relies on one of the characters being a rapist in a gang that ended up abusing of a young girl. While that movie focused on the revenge of the father of one of the abusers towards the avengers of the girl, this one makes the father's girl the responsible of the killings, even if not voluntarily, looking for the responsible of his daughter's murder. In Spain we recently found many real-life cases that shattered the society as a whole and sparked the feminist movement, and the approach of some of the national (male) filmmakers to this controversial matter doesn't look always right. This particular film kind of dangerously gazes at that abyss but, luckily, at the end gives a sort-of-satisfactory closure (even if it may be too bloodily-gratuitous to some viewers and lacks of feminine perpective, both in front and behind the camera) which justifies the approach taken and, as it has been said, gives the viewer a better sense of justice (almost necessary in a piece of fiction).
An enjoyable Spanish flick and a step forward for his director. Definitely a nice way to spend a cold evening.