Message From the King

b

Movie, 2016, R

Premise - Traveling from South Africa, a man arrives in Los Angeles looking for his sister, who he believes is in trouble. He finds her - tortured, bloodied, and dead in a morgue. Following her connections to local gang members, he attempts to avenge her by taking down the key players who led to her death.

Review - I watched this entire movie for one freakin' scene with Tom Felton in it. Like I knew Tom Felton was in the movie (though not as a star), and I watched the whole thing and realized he was only in ONE FREAKIN' SCENE. What an underappreciated actor.

But that's beside the point, was the movie actually worth watching regardless? Part of the reason why Tom Felton was so far down the cast list was that the stars were absolutely stellar - Chadwick Boseman, Luke Evans, and Teresa Palmer. Each of them give compelling performances. Other merits to the film are the music, the gritty portrayal of Los Angeles, the call-out of gang culture, and a badass African protagonist. Though there's not much else I have to say.

This type of film is truly not my genre of expertise. And yet, for someone who is into violent, gang-related films, this may not have been their cup of tea either. It's a very slow-burning mystery that often fails to captivate. The fighting and violence is few and far in between. And the character relationships are a bit forced.

One part of the film I did truly appreciate was the twist at the end, spoiler. Jacob King, the protagonist, comes from the most gang-ridden city in South Africa. When he arrives in Los Angeles, we see him fight gang members to the death, and come out on the winning side. He's an expert at making bombs, sneaking into houses, and outsmarting the gang members. The assumption throughout the film is that he is probably some high-ranking gang member from South Africa, a "King" of sorts. At the very end of the film, he comes home to Cape Town, and he is congratulated from all his police officer friends as the city's well-respected detective. Which, by the way, isn't to say he didn't grow up around gangs, but that is not the lifestyle he ended up in. The reason he is so good at taking down Los Angeles gangs is because that's his profession. I suppose it's hinted at in the way that he is described as the only "straight" dealer in the whole of the film. All these other gang members are never true to their word, and are only in it for the money and themselves. Jacob is violent and scary, but relatively speaking, he's a straight arrow. (54/100)

Quote - "Tell them this was a message from the King"

What to watch for - Came for Tom Felton, stayed for Teresa Palmer's character and her relationship with her daughter. Too precious.

If you liked this movie, I'd imagine something like John Wick or Taken might be similar, but I've never seen those films! This is not my typical genre, so I'm struggling to find my own recommendation.

Directed by Fabrice Du Welz
Distributed by Netflix