'Armor' is a Real Turkey of a Film

         On November 22, 2024, Lionsgate released 'Armor', which has received negative reviews from critics and seems destined to become yet another turkey in the filmography for it's co-lead, Sylvester Stallone. In the film, "Academy Award Nominee Sylvester Stallone and Jason Patric star in an action-packed thriller about the lengths one man will go to save what's left of his family and reclaim his own life. James and his son Casey are armored truck drivers tasked with delivering a suspicious package. After a violent ambush on the road, James and Casey are trapped until they discover the value of what they have been carrying and join forces to outgun and outwit their attackers." But what did the critics say?

        Aidan Kelley of Collider says, "Where Lionsgate's other ill-fated action ventures like Borderlands and The Crow might be remembered as examples of what not to do for an action film, Armor may not even be remembered at all." Adding, "Armor's biggest strength is its lead character, James, and that's largely thanks to a solid performance from Jason Patric. James is the only character in the film who is given any sort of meaningful development, even if his alcoholic tendencies can be quite cliché and sometimes even downright goofy (such as the way he stores his secret stash of booze in the fridge). Despite the character's shortcomings, Patric still delivers a more than passable performance as a scared father who is trying to do everything to protect his family."

Photo by Alex Kalligas on Unsplash

       Avi Offer of NYC Movie Guru notes, "James (Jason Patric) and his son, Casey (Josh Wiggins) work as armored truck drivers fight for their lives when a gang of thieves, Smoke (Dash Mihok), Echo (Josh Whites) and Viper (Jeff Chase), led by Rook (Sylvester Stallone), ambush their truck and trap them on a bridge in Armor. Co-writers Cory Todd Hughes and Adrian Speckert take a simple premise and turn it into a meandering, dull and uninspired blend of drama and action with not nearly enough thrills. They try to humanize James and Casey by providing them with a backstory involving a tragic event that's the cause of James' feelings of guilt and shame as well as his alcoholism and rocky relationship with Casey. James is trying his best to get on the right track by going to AA meetings. The ambush will put his relationship with Casey to the test. Is there not enough dramatic tension within their dysfunctional relationship to propel the plot? If only it were the meat of the story instead of the ambush which is the least compelling part of the film. Rook remains a boring, underwritten villain, and the ending tries to be un-Hollywood and surprising, but doesn't make much sense in hindsight and becomes a weak, lazy ending that feels like a cop-out. The action scenes are lackluster and the dialogue sounds bland without comic relief that would've provided much-needed levity. Talented actor Josh Wiggins, who also stars in the super dramas Hellion and Giant Little Ones, deserves better material than this. At a running time of 1 hour and 29 minutes, Armor, directed by Justin Routt, opens at Cinema Village and on VOD via Lionsgate." Photo by Alex Kalligas on Unsplash