The 355 (2022)
Laura’s Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
I generally like a good spy thriller and I was excited by the idea of a female led cast. Jessica Chastain, Penélope Cruz, Fan Bingbing, Diane Kruger, and Lupita Nyong'o all deliver good performances but the movie left something to be desired.
The Analysis:
After a mission goes wrong, CIA agent Mace Brown (Chastain) joins forces with top agents from other agencies in order to retrieve a dangerous weapon from the wrong hands. Can the women put aside their differences in order to save the world from chaos and destruction?
The beginning of the movie is almost exclusively action, with little character development until a brief romantic connection is established. While I get that this kind of movie isn’t going for 100% accuracy, there’s small details throughout that feel sloppy and careless. Even the structure of the plot to get all the women to team up feels loose. I think the cast worked with what they had but the dialogue and plot is not the dynamite needed to make this a great movie.
For a female centered movie, the first scene doesn’t feature a single woman. I also noticed that while most of the special agents are women, all of their bosses are men. I’ve seen this issue in other modern films as well, where women are placed at the center of the story without actually holding any positions of power. I’d love to see more genuine and intentional female characters in all levels, rather than at the forefront but lacking any real agency or depth.
The movie does have some strong points, including the cast, each of whom I enjoyed in their roles. Penelope Cruz as a normal non-field agent is fun and does add a dose of reality that not every character is a super fighting machine. The film’s plot gets more interesting as the movie goes and there are some badass action sequences that I enjoyed. Overall, the movie is entertaining but flawed, making it feel pretty average.
Yorumlar