The true star of this better than average espionage thriller is Belgium. Shot in Antwerp and Brussels the cities are extraordinarily beautiful, written by Arash Amel and directed by Philipp Stölzl – both of whom are young and new to the business and it shows.
Ben Logan (Aaron Eckhart in a solid performance) is an ex-CIA agent employed by a huge conglomerate Halgate and working for one of their subsidiary companies as a security engineer. He has invited his daughter Amy (Liana Liberato) to move from the US to Belgium to live with him to reconnect after a lengthy separation. Ben's job is to try to get pass security protocols, fool the eye scanners and break into safes. But overnight Ben discovers that his company, Halgate, no longer inhabits his workplace and that all evidence of Ben's existence has been erased. Slowly he discovers that there is a huge conspiracy surrounding his employer and that soon he and his daughter will become subjects of a manhunt. Ben's co- workers are all murdered with the exception of his colleague Derek Kolper (Neil Napier) who apparently has possession of documents that will bring the conspiracy into the open. Ben relies on his US operative colleague Anna Brandt (the beautiful Ukrainian actress Olga Kurylenko) who is not who she seems. Amy grows from being a dysfunctional disgruntled teenager to a keen 'agent' with some help from her boyfriend Nabil (the very bright handsome new rising star Yassine Fadel). Targeted for termination by a company with seemingly unlimited recourses, they only have one choice: get to the bottom of this conspiracy in a hope that it will save their lives.
Though there are holes in this story and many borrowed concepts from other films in this genre, the film provides visual if not intellectual excitement. The cast is solid and there is always the magnificent beauty of Belgium to fill in the gaps. Who knows how it will fare when it reaches the theaters, but for now it provides a solid at home evening of entertainment. Grady Harp, April 13
Ben Logan (Aaron Eckhart in a solid performance) is an ex-CIA agent employed by a huge conglomerate Halgate and working for one of their subsidiary companies as a security engineer. He has invited his daughter Amy (Liana Liberato) to move from the US to Belgium to live with him to reconnect after a lengthy separation. Ben's job is to try to get pass security protocols, fool the eye scanners and break into safes. But overnight Ben discovers that his company, Halgate, no longer inhabits his workplace and that all evidence of Ben's existence has been erased. Slowly he discovers that there is a huge conspiracy surrounding his employer and that soon he and his daughter will become subjects of a manhunt. Ben's co- workers are all murdered with the exception of his colleague Derek Kolper (Neil Napier) who apparently has possession of documents that will bring the conspiracy into the open. Ben relies on his US operative colleague Anna Brandt (the beautiful Ukrainian actress Olga Kurylenko) who is not who she seems. Amy grows from being a dysfunctional disgruntled teenager to a keen 'agent' with some help from her boyfriend Nabil (the very bright handsome new rising star Yassine Fadel). Targeted for termination by a company with seemingly unlimited recourses, they only have one choice: get to the bottom of this conspiracy in a hope that it will save their lives.
Though there are holes in this story and many borrowed concepts from other films in this genre, the film provides visual if not intellectual excitement. The cast is solid and there is always the magnificent beauty of Belgium to fill in the gaps. Who knows how it will fare when it reaches the theaters, but for now it provides a solid at home evening of entertainment. Grady Harp, April 13