Director: Eric Etebari
Writer: Anthony Caruso (Screenplay)
Starring: David Chokachi, John Schneider, Chris Mulkey, Yancy Butler, Michael Pare, Vernon Wells, Angela Gots
Plot: A Desperate man gets involved in a risky plan to smuggle emeralds across the Mexican border in order to save his daughter’s life. When the deal goes awry and he is left for dead
Tagline – Family is everything
Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Slow Paced
Story: Emerald Run Starts as John Thomas (Chokachi) a former criminal that needs to raise money for his daughter Lisa’s medical bills, which sees him reunite with a former boss Alfio Sarda (Mulkey) which would see him look to smuggle diamonds across the border.
When the job goes wrong, John is left for dead in the desert, he must find his way back to safety to bring down the person that has set him up.
Thoughts on Emerald Run
Characters – John Thomas is getting to new lengths to try and help his family, he agrees to help his father-in-law, which sees him try and smuggle some emeralds over the border, only to be left for dead and needing to fight to survive to expose the truth. Alfio Sarda is the father-in-law that will do anything to make more money, he has a reputation for being a man that will give people opportunities, as quick as he will take them away. Anna is the wife of John’s who challenges John’s faith when it comes to fighting their daughter’s illness. We do meet plenty of other people who are all interested in the emeralds and money involved.
Performances – David Chokachi in the leading role does bring the character to life, which is the only performance that gets enough time to make something out of his character and their limited screen time.
Story – The story here follows a father that agrees to go on a risk smuggling run to help get the funds for his daughter’s medical treatment, only to be left for dead. This is a story that does have the right motivation for John to be going on the job, but it does seem to make him look to desperate, when he doesn’t need to be, we do have a religious theme in the film, which doesn’t help, as John is conflicted with the ideas behind the survival. The story never really feels as intense as it should be and ends up feeling flat throughout.
Adventure – The adventure does take John on a job which doesn’t go to plan, forcing him to try and survive in the wilderness.
Settings – The film uses the settings to show us just how harsh the environment John is traveling through will be on his mind and body.
Scene of the Movie – Home.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It felt very slow.
Final Thoughts – This is a by the books adventure movie that focuses on how far people would go for family and what is worth risking for them.
Overall: Flat Adventure film.
