The humble action thriller is a genre for all occasions, whether it’s a big budget theatrical release or a smaller scale streaming exclusive. As cinema audiences and latterly streaming subscribers have shown on a regular basis, seeing a famous face unravel a conspiracy while trying to keep their loved ones safe is a form of filmmaking that’s never going to go out of fashion.
Jason Momoa might be best known for playing the title hero in the highest-grossing DC Comics adaptation ever made, but he’s no slouch in the action department when it comes to a more realistic setting, either. His underrated Braven was a delightful throwback to days gone by, and while Sweet Girl isn’t a particularly good movie, it’s proven popular enough to dominate the platform’s most-watched list all week.
The former Game of Thrones star plays Ray Cooper, a man who loses his wife to cancer and holds the pharmaceutical company that withheld the medication capable of saving her life responsible. Dragged into a wide-ranging conspiracy with citywide implications, Ray has to make his way to the top of the food chain while keeping his daughter Rachel out of harm’s way, which is easier said than done when she can’t stop running headlong into it.
A 19% score on Rotten Tomatoes is not great, but poor reviews have never deterred Netflix customers from checking out a star-powered slice of high concept escapism, so there was really no other outcome than Sweet Girl playing very well for at least a week or so. Isabela Merced is already enthusiastic at the prospect of a sequel, but that’s probably almost entirely dependent on what the four-week viewing figures are.