One Shot - 2021
Quick Summary
An elite squad of Navy SEALs, on a covert mission to transport a prisoner off a CIA black site island prison, are trapped when insurgents attack while trying to rescue the same prisoner.
My Thoughts
The first thing to say about this film is that it has a peculiarity: it's made up of a single sequence shot. It's quite impressive, giving the impression of seeing a live shot, and you can't figure out where the cuts are made.
Another thing that's quite well done with this single sequence shot principle is that the changes of point of view are quite clever. Indeed, we had to find a way of going from one camp to another without making any cuts.
This principle also makes the film quite dynamic, with everything flowing quickly. That's all on the positive side.
On the downside, there's the rather simplistic script. In the end, it's a simple story of classic terrorists, which you could very well hear about on TV.
Also, this rather weak script closes a lot of doors to the director, resulting in a film in which there's nothing but gunfire for 1h30. There's non-stop shooting, which gets heavy after a while, and you have to hang on to make it to the end of the film. It's like being in a video game. There are a few calmer scenes from time to time, however, to keep our heads from hurting.
Apart from that, the lead actor isn't too bad, but the other characters aren't believable and try too hard.
In short, this film is watchable, but it's not exceptional either. Its only strength is the fact that it's done in a single sequence shot, and you get the impression that everything else has been neglected.
To Watch or Not to Watch
This film is fun to watch, just for its particularity of being made in one sequence shot. But you'll have to hang on to watch it to the end.