Killing Field – Standard Action Film
Director: James Cullen Bressack
Writer: Ross Peacock (Screenplay)
Starring: Chad Michael Murray, Bruce Willis, Swen Temmel, Michael Sirow, Kate Katzman, Sean Kanan, Simon Phillips, Zack Ward
Plot: A man’s life on his farm is interrupted when a cop and a pair of dangerous criminals show up.
Runtime: 1 Hour 37 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Killing Field starts when cops David (Willis) and Cal (Temmel) follow a drug deal, planning on making a bust, only for everything to go wrong, David left injured and Cal in pursuit of the criminals.
The chase will see them end up on grieving farmer Eric (Murray) farmhouse, which will see him team up with Cal to take down Frank (Sirow) and his men who are waiting for the boss to arrive to deal with the problems.
Thoughts on Killing Field
Characters & Performances – Eric is the grieving farmer who has recently lost his wife and daughter in an accident, he is on the edge, with this attack on his land being a chance to face death. He will team up with the detective to fight to protect his land from the criminals, using his knowledge of the land and his skills are a former army ranger. Chad Michael Murray does bring the grieving figure to life, while his combat skills work for what is needed in the film. Cal is the younger partner of David, he is looking to track down the criminals, needing to use stealth to stay ahead of them, so they can finally bring them down, teaming up with Eric to make it happen. David is the senior partner of Cal, who has been after the family involved for years, now coming face to face with the son who has his own reason for coming after him. Frank is leading the hunt, he is calm and calculated with his threats, while answers to the real boss along the way. When it comes to most of the performances in this film, we know what we are going to get, Bruce Willis on set, a villain in Michael Sirow who is trying to make himself standout in the film and the rest of the hench people having weird quirks about them.
Story – The story here follows a group of criminals that look to take shelter in a remote farmhouse, only to find themselves bring track down by a cop and the farmer looking to escape his painful life. This is a story that will see the law needing to fight back against a larger number of criminals to do the right thing, the story is built for a major change in the narrative, which never seems to come. The story does give Eric some closure in his life, while the rest of the characters don’t get much to do, which will make the story feel flat by the end.
Themes – Killing Field is an action film that will use the isolated farmhouse and surroundings to create the different action sequences, with each putting our heroes against the different hench people, with different styles involved. The action is by the books, with a series of lazy feeling car chases that are shot badly.
Signature Entertainment presents Killing Field on Digital Platforms 17th January and DVD 24th January.
Final Thoughts – Killing Field is a by the books action film, never offering anything edgy enough to elevate it.
