Sean Flaco (Robert Sheehan), petty criminal, stumbles across a woman being held captive while on one of his (many?) ill-fated criminal schemes. Little does he know that the rich psychopath behind it, Cale Erendreich (David Tennant), has for revenge a lethal cat and mouse game.
Look, this is not an uncommon premise, especially the 'toying with people's lives' bit. It happens around us all the time, with varying levels of subtlety. But it's got a good tension in Sean's role, where he cannot just go to the police for fear of arrest and deportation.
The two lead actors reprise a role they have assumed in various previous productions, to good effect. David Tennant, playing the evil rich genius, assumes a role rather similar to Kilgrave in Jessica Jones, the Marvel TV series. Both know how to game the establishment and have an outward appearance of inscrutable respectability. Robert Sheehan, the criminal in way over his head, plays a role quite like Nathan in Misfits: both roles on the wrong side of the law, but also mischievous and lacking malice.
The story felt surprisingly… small. Ultimately, this is about three people and played on a very personal scale. The FBI plays a deus ex machina role. Even Cale's revenge is less of leading Sean into a downward spiral than taking out people in his life (nearly cameo roles, it must be said) with sniper-like precision. The portrayal of social media could have been a lot more interesting – but that would not have matched the overall pace.
The story also raises questions about the assumptions that let this happen and justice, but Bad Samaritan isn't interested in answering those questions. In fact, the ending is almost predictable in its depiction of poetic justice.
Overall, not a bad thriller, but I had expected... more.
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