Madec is a corporate high roller who will stop at nothing to get exactly what he wants. Ben his young guide is for more than he bargained for on the hunting trip which certainly does not go to plan!
Madec seems a little bit crazy from the outset and that because he is very rich he can pretty much do what he wants. Buying his way in to places and those does not really paint a very good picture of him. Especially the way things turn and Ben just cannot be bought off. That is certainly the difference between the two characters, although I guess if Ben accepted the deal then we wouldn’t have a film.
As they are hunting and Madec has a rather elaborate car with plenty of high-tech things on it and he doesn’t really listen to Ben’s advice. He accidentally shoots a person thinking it was an animal. This is when the proposal takes place and when Madec really loses it when he realises that he will be paying for the crime he committed as Ben was not going to just leave it.
This then creates our story as Ben must fight to stay alive in the Desert which certainly does not look like it is going to be possible with Madec and a gun chasing him about. Not only a gun but plenty of other weapons as well, it certainly builds up in tension and creates an interesting film.
Michael Douglas was brilliant as Madec it has to be said so evil and well damn crazy. But something that he has always done very well in different characters and this one is no different. In all honesty the fact he was in the film is the only reason I decided to watch it. Doesn’t really have a long running time either which was also a good thing at the time.
Jeremy Irvine was pretty good as Ben although he didn’t stand a chance up against Douglas in all honesty, as he was just on another level. His character Ben is going through somethings trying to decide if he actually did the right thing when it came to his girlfriend moving away. Thus I guess was supposed to make the audience feel sorry for him and want to see him succeed. Unfortunately he fails short of the mark and personally I did not care about him at all, which I think was a key aspect in the story.
I think the basis and general idea behind the film could have made for something a little bit different, but it really does just lack something that I cannot quite figure out in all honesty. You need more than one crazy and impressive performance to make a film work and I am afraid that is all this one has going for it. I felt that the final scene as well just took it away from what had happened previous and didn’t fit in very well with the rest of the chase and story. Don’t rush to watch this one!
