A smoke jumper, Hannah (Angelina Jolie) and a traumatized boy, Connor (Finn Little) fight for their lives as two relentless assassins, brothers, Jack (Aiden Gillen) and Patrick (Nicholas Hoult), who actually murdered Connor's father, Owen (Jake Weber) in front of the boy, pursue them through a raging wildfire in the Montana wilderness. A lightning strike disables the radio in Hannah's smoke jumper tower, so she and Connor have to make it on foot to town all the while Deputy Sheriff Ethan (Jon Bernthal) is attempting to locate them before the assassins do.
Others to round out the cast are Medina Senghore as Allison, Ethan's wife, Tyler Perry as Arthur, Boots Southerland as Sheriff, Tory Kittles as Ryan and James Jordan as Ben.
This was intensely directed by Taylor Sheridan ("Vile" '11, "Wind River" '17) plus TV. Although this filmmaker is quite the seasoned writer, his ability behind the camera gets better with each film he directs. These characters simply jump off the screen showcasing just the right amount of emotion to convey to the audience where these characters are at and how they interact with each other. It was creatively and excitingly written by Michael Koryta, Charles Leavitt ("The Sunchaser" '96, "The Mighty" '98, "The Jennie Project" (TV movie) '01, "K-Pax" '01, "Blood Diamond" '06, "The Express" '08, "Seventh Son" '14, "In the Heart of the Sea" '15, "Warcraft" '16) and Sheridan ("Sicario" '15, "Hell or High Water" '16, "Wind River" '17, "Sicario: Day of the Soldado" '18, "Tom Clancy's Without Remorse" '21) plus TV, based on the book by Michael Koryta. Between Leavitt and Sheridan, this film certainly showcased two veteran writers at their best. The script was cohesive, tight and gripping as these characters were being the hunters or the hunted. There were a couple of very small inconsistencies in storyline, however not enough to detract from the intensity of this screenplay where fighting the clock became paramount. I'm sure Koryta was included as one of the writers since it was based on his book. This was actually a smart move with the producers, because including him would only add to the validity of the screenplay that much more. If Sheridan's writing is to your liking, his "Fast" is in pre-production.
Soon, more big-budget grandiose films will be gracing the theater screens and I am certainly looking forward to them considering the year plus we have all been through. I don't know about you, but I'm waiting for something to escape into, and this film was a good start.
Out of 4 stars: 3.5 Rated: R 99mins.
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