Director: Niels Arden Oplev
Writer: J.H, Wyman (Screenplay)
Starring: Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Terrence Howard, Dominic Cooper, Isabelle Huppert, Luis Da Silva Jr, Stu Bennett, Franky G
Plot: In New York City, a crime lord’s right-hand man is seduced by a woman seeking retribution.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Solid Revenge Thriller
Story: Dead Man Down starts Darcy (Cooper) explaining to Victor (Farrell) that there is more to life that lets them escape a criminal world. Both Darcy and Victor work as right hand men to crime lord Alphonse (Howard) and when they find one of their own killed they have to clean up the mess. Somebody is out to kill Alphonse and his men which leads to a battle within the crime syndicates.
Next we meet a disfigured young woman Beatrice (Rapace) who just so happens to live opposite Victor as we see romantic story unfold. The awkward date takes a turn when Beatrice tries to blackmail Victor into killing the man who caused her facial disfigurement and got away with it. To complicate the matter Victor is actually undercover in Alphonse crew for another crime boss as we see he is out for revenge for a past grievance.
When Alphonse boss learns that the people he took out weren’t responsible for the games Darcy starts investigating the truth while Victor continues trying to stay one step ahead. Victor and Beatrice relationship becomes strong when they finally learn they both want revenge but will they get it?
Dead Man Down is a revenge thriller that really gets miss sold through the trailer as the trailer never once lets you know that Victor is part of the crime world. I think this works to the story’s advantage because again from the trailer the film looks like Alphonse knows who he is against from early on but he never learns until the final act. We also get made to believe Beatrice is out for revenge on Alphonse. If you just watch this film not having read anything this will be a very good film but once you anything you will start to feel a little bit surprised and even disappointed. As a revenge thriller the story is very good but in the end it will come off slightly disappointing because of the final act. (7/10)
Actor Review
Colin Farrell: Victor is the right hand man for Alphonse but he is out for revenge against him for killing his family, his operation gets complicated when a woman walks into his life that wants him to kill the man responsible for her own disfigurement. Colin gives a great performance and I can honestly say it is one of my favorite of his career. (8/10)
Noomi Rapace: Beatrice is the disfigured woman who wants the man responsible killed and she sees Victor as the perfect choice to get the job done, as the story unfolds the two become friends in their quest for revenge. Noomi continues her trend of playing disfigured characters and ends up playing the character to help Victor see the light. (7/10)
Terrence Howard: Alphonse is the crime boss who killed Victor’s family and is trying to uncover the truth about who is trying to take the crime bosses out. He thinks he is one step ahead of the man responsible but when he learns the truth he doesn’t believe it himself. Terrence does make a good crime boss but doesn’t get enough scenes for his character to really shine through. (6/10)
Dominic Cooper: Darcy is Victor’s friend who also works alongside him under Alphonse, he has a family which makes Victor’s choice for revenge difficult because he sees himself in Darcy. Dominic does a good job in the role making us care about a criminal who is trying to balance the life of crime with a new family. (7/10)
Support Cast: Dead Man Down has a supporting cast that includes the henchman and fellow crime boss that all get put together to help uncover the truth.
Director Review: Niels Arden Oplev – Niels does give us a good revenge thriller even with the production problems the film faced. (7/10)
Action: Dead Man Down gives us a couple of generic action scenes which are mostly shoot outs with bodies flying everywhere. (7/10)
Crime: Dead Man Down puts us into a criminal world but only as the undercover man trying to plan his revenge. (7/10)
Thriller: Dead Man Down does keep you guessing but then just gives hints at what Victor’s plan is. (7/10)
Settings: Dead Man Down keeps the settings looking like what would be normal in most gangster films, abandoned buildings or crime ran buildings. (7/10)
Suggestion: Dead Man Down is one to try for all the action fans out there, it will surprise with the way it will unfold. (Action Fans Try)
Best Part: Farrell shines.
Worst Part: Miss leading trailer.
Action Scene Of The Film: Final showdown.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $18 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 58 Minutes
Tagline: Blood demands blood
Trivia: Director Niels Arden Oplev has disowned the American advertising campaign, which he felt misrepresented the film. He also spoke of budget problems during production, which forced him to speed up the shoot, and of not being able to edit the film the way he would have preferred.
Overall: This is an action revenge thriller that bubbles up nicely before exploding into action.
Rating 
