The Reckoning (2014) Reviews

• Well acted thriller with twists

  chunky6962014-08-08

  I was looking forward to seeing this movie because (1) I'm a fan of thrillers and (2) I like Viva Bianca since her Spartacus days. This film is an interesting blend of found footage and crime movie which I haven't seen before. The film starts off a bit slow but then picks up pace and certainly has suspenseful moments. Viva is good although the detective Lapaglia is also impressive as is one of the teenagers. Performances are realistic and there are plenty of twists which kept me on my toes, particularly towards the end. the movie has a good score as well although sometimes feels too busy, but it works. Overall i really enjoyed it and recommend it to others.

• Kind of feels like a long episode of a popular cop TV show.

  Hellmant2014-10-21

  'THE RECKONING': Three Stars (Out of Five) Australian crime-mystery-thriller flick starring the brothers of some well known celebrities; Jonathan LaPaglia (kid brother of Anthony LaPaglia) and Luke Hemsworth (big brother to Chris and Liam Hemsworth). It was written and directed by John V. Soto and also stars Viva Bianca, Hanna Mangan Lawrence and Alex Williams. It tells the story of a cop investigating the murder of his former partner; while also tracking down two troubled teens, linked to the killing. The movie is pretty well made but nothing too memorable. LaPaglia plays Robbie Green; a detective investigating the roadside murder of his ex-partner Jason Pearson (Hemsworth). He finds an SD card, at the scene of the crime, that contains video shot by two runnaway teens; Rachel (Lawrence) and AJ (Williams). The teens were making a documentary, on the hit-and-run death of Rachel's sister, and the video could contain information leading to Pearson's killer. With the help of Detecitve Jane Lambert (Bianca), Green investigates the crime and finds some pretty shocking and gruesome imagery, on the video, in the process. I was expecting a pretty poorly made, and mostly boring, B movie crime thriller but this is better than that. The acting is all pretty decent (especially LaPaglia and Lawrence) and the directing isn't too amateurish. It does kind of feel like a long episode of a popular cop TV show, but a good one at least. While the film is more interesting (and better made) than I was expecting, it's still nothing too special and I doubt I'll remember too much about it more than a year from now. Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: youtu.be/N3ywdecCULw

• is in......I give it a pass.

  adrossan2014-08-15

  I was about to let my attention wander with this movie, when it took an interesting turn. It had my full attention from then on, and while not a world beater, I quite enjoyed it. Made a change from over-the-top clichéd rubbish, and put a new turn on the almost exhausted found-footage genre, which I hope will take a long rest very soon. This not a found footage film per se, but uses the style to clever use to keep our Detectives on the hunt and guessing, as does the viewer. I liked also the intelligent denouement and completion of the storyline, except for one section, which still needs work in most films. More attention should be paid to this critical part of any film (budding film makers TAKE NOTE), as it can often snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, leaving the viewer appalled at a "cheapskate" way out of a corner the writers have painted themselves into. Reference American Gigolo as an example of a poor and rushed ending that spoiled an otherwise very good film. A little more use of the Australian scenery would have added a more Aussie feel to the picture, which has somewhat of a generic feel (could have happened anywhere) but overall the dark subject matter was handled quite well with deep moods and lighting to match, not too dark and still able to hear every spoken word. Nice one John Soto, more please.....

• Good Aussie crime thriller with a twist.

  barry-maxwell-19922014-09-02

  I was a little cautious about John Soto's new film The Reckoning. I think the 'found footage' genre is over saturated. However, The Reckoning doesn't quite play out that way, in fact it's an intriguing mix of found footage and the police procedural. I feel that there is enough of a twist on the genres that it actually becomes quite engaging. The story develops nicely, and the two arcs of characters are molded together well. I think that Hanna Mangan Lawrence and Alex Williams, playing the two runaway teens, really shone in this film. That's not to say Jonathan LaPaglia and Viva Bianca were bad, they were good as their roles, but Lawrence and Williams were a driving force in the film. I feel like The Reckoning is a great Aussie film, I took particular joy in seeing Perth on the big screen, and after watching it I really want to see Soto's other films Crush and Needle.

• Challenging sanity - the Aussie way

  discocat772014-09-03

  There's an old joke – "all Australians are walking upside down". This movie is a persuasive proof that there is definitely a tiny piece of joke in this statement. The society pictured in this movie is exactly like that – completely twisted. For example, what would the three muscular drug dealers do when their safe house is approached by an inadequately looking teen girl with a skinny friend, who's shooting the bandits on camera(!!!)? And the lady is mumbling something about retribution from the bible… Of course, the criminals politely invite this creepy pair into their hideout, and then obediently allow to savagely torture and kill themselves. Of course, it' s an absolutely obvious way things are done in the streets of Australia! What a shame that the movie director didn't share with the audience the details of "bringing to peace" the avenged criminals, who overwhelm the attackers in every possible characteristic excluding "goodness". It makes one think that however hard the movie creators tried to work out a persuasive way of crazy teen couple's winning over 2 foot-soldiers with their boss, they couldn't make it without looking unrealistic. That's why they took an innovative decision to picture the bandits already neutralized. Genius move! Thunderous applause! And there's one more especially vivid episode. What would the main character of the movie, an experienced police officer in his 40s, do, when he comes home knowing he's being hunted by two extremely dangerous criminals intending to mortify him as painfully as possible? Especially considering the fact that previously they've already committed a number of psycho-aggravated assaults, presently on the loose and always do their thing fast. A normal thriller hero would send the wife and kids away and would be sitting in the dark corner of his home with a gun, waiting for the inevitable visit. But the Aussie heroes have a special sovereign methodology. As clear as day, the concerned policeman first fixes himself a mighty drink, then has sex with his wife and…happily blacks out in the sleep of the righteous. Well, a man has a right to relax, doesn't he? Especially in the anticipation of brutal torture and violent death. That's how it usually happens, right? And then he's woken up in the warm company of quite expected maniac guests, who have already taken the heirs of this sleeping beauty as hostages. And such "innovative" plot points, boldly challenging the most common everyday logic, adorn almost every episode of this movie. But along with that its content propagates the humanitarian target of youth de- narcotization. Guess the creators of "Reckoning" made a very good job in making it very hard to take this movie and its "humanitarian mission" seriously. They can be really proud of themselves.