Hard Kill sounds like a fake movie that people in a movie would go and see. The upcoming action thriller stars Bruce Willis as a billionaire tech CEO who’s hired a team of mercs to guard a new, lethal gadget. Things go pear-shaped, though, when Willis’ character’s daughter is kidnapped by terrorists and his security chief Derek Miller (Desperate Housewives’ Jesse Metcalfe) must chase down the baddies, rescue the girl and save the world. The movie is heading to select drive-in theaters and VOD on August 28th and now, a new clip has been released showing masked men firing guns at each other in a warehouse.
I know it’s unfair to judge a film before I’ve seen it, but this is just about the most generic gunfight I’ve ever witnessed. You have a bunch of anonymous masked men firing wildly at one another yet hitting nobody, while people take cover behind a wooden desk and a… cardboard box? Maybe this isn’t representative of the rest of the pic, but presumably when they were choosing a clip to release, they looked for the most exciting scene. And if this is it, well, we’re in trouble, folks.
Director Matt Eskandari claims the film will be “a non-stop escalation of driving momentum and sustained action set pieces” and that “the audience will always be kept on their toes and holding their breath in anticipation of what’s coming at them next.” But in what’s almost certainly an explanation for why this looks rushed, he mentioned an incredibly condensed shoot, saying:
“Getting a chance to do so many more stunts and gun-work than I’ve ever done in a film was a major challenge in such a quick 10 day shoot. Thankfully, I was able to really maximize as much of the shootouts in a safe and effective way that kept the story moving forward.”
I’m never one to turn down a silly low-budget action movie, but one of the reasons I enjoy them so much is that they can give directors freedom to go nuts as there’s not much at stake. Hard Kill looks a bit dull, though. But hey, full credit for shooting an entire action pic in 10 days, as that’s about as much time as a regular film would devote to a single sequence.
