Hig Five: This week’s theme – Vendetta 

Hig Five: This week’s theme – Vendetta 

FPJ BureauUpdated: Saturday, June 01, 2019, 12:53 AM IST
article-image

John Wick 

A dying Helen gifts a Beagle puppy to her former Marine and ex-hitman husband John Wick (Keanu Reeves) to help him cope with her demise. Some gangsters led by Iosef insist on buying his vintage ’69 Mustang car and when John refuses they kill the puppy and steal the car. Crime kingpin Viggo (Michael Nyqvist) berates his son Iosef and explains that John Wick was his best assassin who retired after getting married. When attempts to dissuade John fail, Viggo dispatches a hit squad to John’s house. John kills all the henchmen, Iosef and finally Viggo. He rescues a pitbull puppy from a cage and walks away. Watch this stylish revenge action thriller shot skillfully from multiple angles.

Out of the Furnace 

Mill worker Russell (Christian Bale) meets his brother Rodne

y (Casey Affleck) who owes Petty, who runs several illegal games and bars, a huge sum. Russell asks him to work in the mill but self-respecting Iraq veteran Rodney refuses. To repay his huge debts to Petty, Rodney participates in bare-knuckle fights. To finish off his debts faster, Rodney suggests to Petty to organise more lucrative fights and sends a letter to Russell that this will be his last fight and that he would like to work with Russell at the mill. Petty owes a lot of money to DeGroat (Woody Harrelson), a drug dealer who has him and Rodney killed. Russell hunts down and shoots DeGroat with his hunting rifle. This thriller is packed with talent.

Law Abiding Citizen

Ex-agent Shelton’s (Gerard Butler) wife and daughter are killed by Darby and Ames but prosecutor Rice makes a deal with Darby, letting him plead guilty in return for testifying against Ames. So Ames is sentenced to death. Shelton feels betrayed by Rice’s actions. Darby, the actual killer, serves a shortened sentence and is released just a few years later. Shelton tortures and dismembers Darby for killing his wife and daughter. In court, Shelton successfully argues that he should be granted bail, citing weak evidence and lack of a criminal record. Shelton then murders members of the corrupt criminal justice system. The crime thriller was nominated for a Saturn Award and also garnered NAACP Image Award nominations.

Man on Fire 

Depressed and alcoholic ex-marine and agent John Creasy (Denzel Washington) meets his friend Rayburn, who runs a security firm in Mexico, for a job. To protect his daughter ‘Pita’ (Dakota Fanning), in view of the high rate of kidnappings, Samuel hires Creasy through Rayburn. Creasy begins to feel and act as a mentor and father-figure to the little girl so when Pita is abducted Creasy vows to kill everyone involved in the abduction. Samuel confesses that he agreed to stage Pita’s kidnapping so he could pay off his business debts. Creasy gets Pita back but dies from his gunshot injuries. Watch this fast-paced thriller for the chemistry between Creasy and the girl.

 Payback 

A down-on-his-luck doctor removes bullets from Porter’s (Mel Gibson) back. After recuperating, Porter tells the doctor that $70,000 was taken from him and that he is going to get it back from his former partner Val and estranged drug addict wife Lynn (Deborah Unger). It is revealed that after a heist, Lynn shot Porter and then Val and Lynn left him for dead. Porter shoots Val and after dispatching many crime bosses and henchmen, he is picked up by Rosie (Maria Bello) and they drive off to Canada to begin a new life. Watch this crime film mainly for Mel Gibson’s performance and as per the film’s tagline, ‘Get ready to root for the bad guy’.

RECENT STORIES