The German production brings with it a good idea for an action film, but bets on an execution that does not stray from homogeneity
Action is a genre that evolves a lot over time and technology that cinema has developed over the decades. While other types of production may also change over time, the action genre offers characteristics that you can pretty much tell when it was made just by watching a few scenes.
60 minutes, a Netflix original production, is a film that brings a timeless good idea, but its execution shows how outdated it already seems. The German film isn’t bad, but it seems out of time, if you’ll pardon the pun.
Run and fight, but only a little
60 minutes tells the story of Octavio, a fighter who seems to have a very difficult relationship with his ex-girlfriend and mother of his daughter. An MMA fighter, he has to train for a big fight which, by chance, was scheduled on the same day as the child’s birthday.
After the delays, his ex-girlfriend says she will no longer let him near his daughter, losing custody if he doesn’t show up to her party within the hour. I don’t know to what extent she can do it just because he was late for the baby’s birthday, but all he had to do was drop everything and run across Berlin to her ex’s house.
The problem is that members of a gambling mafia have invested a lot in the fight and Octavio needs to fight. So, the bandits decide to chase him so that he can fight, while the fighter runs away to reach his daughter.
You see that the idea of 60 minutes It’s not bad and its execution could provide several emotional moments. If the director wanted to do something really intense, he could transform the frenetic moment by making it happen in real time. Much more difficult, but would also present several possibilities for action scenes.
But we would be wrong to think about what the movie could be, and not what it really is, which is an action movie like hundreds of those seen on TV since the 90s. The fight scenes and big moments would be incredible. years ago, but today they seem extremely common. There’s nothing that stands out as much as it could, which is a shame because they’re not bad.
The hope for good scenes lies in the fact that the main character is an MMA fighter and they are not bad, but perhaps they went too far towards realism, which is not particularly cinematic. This makes Emilio Sakraya (Warrior nun) manages to perform well in his scenes, but on screen he doesn’t look as good as, say, Keanu Reeves as John Wick.
They are different characters, but there is a noticeable difference in the fight choreography 60 minutes be much more on the side of a film like Relentless research. Considering Liam Neeson was in his 60s when he made those films, maybe that’s not much of a compliment.
Characters as deep as a saucer
Asking for a rich construction of the characters’ personalities in an action film that involves beatings and running may seem absurd, but 60 minutes It abuses a bit of the viewer’s goodwill for the simple fact of providing almost less than the basics.
Octavio begins the film by showing himself as an absent father, a person who doesn’t care much about his responsibilities. Throughout the film, this is remembered by other characters, such as his parents and acquaintances. By the end of the story, it’s not possible that he has changed much. All the running around and what he goes through doesn’t seem to make him mature and eventually become a good father. Except he’s trying to survive.
The other characters are also weak, some appear and disappear from the story out of nowhere. It’s something that doesn’t bother me too much because the idea that Octavio can’t stop and just move on, but it’s still weird, especially when these people pop back into the plot as if they were something other than random figures.
Ultimately, returning to what was said at the beginning, 60 minutes It seems like a film out of its time. If it had been released in the 90s, within a few years it could have become a cult, inspiring new productions that would have used it as inspiration for something better.
As it is, it’s a film that doesn’t offend, but doesn’t move either. Whereas the streaming is full of good productions of the action genre, including some original ones, it is possible to believe that the German film will soon get lost among them.
60 minutes is available on Netflix.
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Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
