B-tier action thrillers are like catnip to Netflix subscribers, which is completely fair and wholly understandable when there are few less taxing (but still entertaining enough) ways to while away a couple of hours. That being said, it comes as a surprise to see 2018’s River Runs Red sitting among such illustrious blockbuster company near the head of the pack.
As per FlixPatrol, writer and director Wes Miller’s widely panned effort is currently the 10th most-watched title on the platform’s global viewership charts, by virtue of charting high in 20 countries spread out across two continents. Viewers are clearly ignoring the 22 percent Rotten Tomatoes score, then, with critics singling out the salacious handling of genuinely timely thematic elements.
Taye Diggs heads up the cast as judge Charles Coleman Sr., who turns his back on his lifelong dedication to upholding the law when he opts to take matters into his own hands in an effort to exact revenge on the crooked cops that murdered his son in a routine traffic stop gone horribly wrong.
The accused officers are acquitted of any criminal charges, but John Cusack’s dogged detective uncovers incriminating evidence of a conspiratorial cover-up, with Diggs also roping in another grieving father to aid him on his quest for retribution. It’s fairly by-the-numbers stuff within the context of a 94-minute actioner that barely saw the inside of a theater, even if many reviews took issue with the usage of serious subject matter as the basis for a wish-fulfillment fantasy.
Netflix crowds don’t seem to mind, though, proving themselves more than willing to propel River Runs Red to a new wave of popularity.
Published: Aug 15, 2022 10:57 am