I thought I had the entire plot summary to Dead Man Down worked out in my head before walking in. The trailer seems to give much of the story away, but with some of my favorite actors, intense action sequences, and a bit of cat and mouse style tension all running under “Shine on your crazy diamonds”, I was sold on this one from the first trailer.

“Now I know everything.”

I was wrong about having the film worked out; I was right about it being a great watch. Dead Man Down stars Noomi Rapace (of Prometheus and the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy) and Colin Farrell (Total Recall, Seven Psychopaths and a list of other films I really enjoyed). Rapace portrays Beatrice, a woman who has been facially disfigured and holds a mean grudge about it. She witnesses Victor (Farrell) commit murder and blackmails him to exact her revenge. This is what the trailer shows us, and that’s sort of correct. There is a lot more to it, and the commercial is chock full of misdirection. Niels Arden Oplev is the award-winning director of the original Swedish Dragon Tattoo films, Dead Man Down is his first American film. Based on a screenplay by writer J.H. Wyman, who has also penned the Brad Pitt film The Mexican, as well acting in both film and television roles.

“Daddy takes care of the monsters.”

In interviews, Wyman has compared Dead Man Down to the Luc Besson classic Leon: The Professional. While not obvious, there are similarities in the dynamic between the players of his script. While most would certainly categorize this film as a revenge piece, there are many more elements and much more depth of storytelling. In Wyman’s revenge piece, there is the dichotomy of Victor’s patience and methodical planning with the fire and impetuosity of Beatrice’s need for vengeance.

The chemistry between Rapace and Farrell is extremely powerful on screen as well. Rapace does not typically show a massive range in her characters, but her anger and angst are done so well (as we saw in Dragon Tattoo), that’s all I want to see her do. Farrell has gone from drama to the maniacal, and even military; the emotion and nuance he conveys plays well in comparison to her strength. Generally, I don’t like Terrance Howard. I’ve never been impressed by any performance he’s given outside of Crash, but the writing of Crash was so well done, I would give the script credit long before Howard. However, begrudgingly, I would even give Terrance Howard a nod for his role as a villain. He slinks onscreen with a catlike pace, he just looks dangerous as a man so sure of his power and ability to dominate that it’s palpable. My only complaint with Howard is in the third act when his attitude and presentation that he’s established up to that point dwindles down from prestige and calculated power to that of a common street thug.

“Make more moments.”

From start to finish, the film is interesting and creates a mood and melody in imagery alone. New York City’s lower east side adds a grey-skied starkness to the characters, and the story always had me on my toes. Several times during the film, I thought I had the finale worked out; inevitably there would be subtle turns that kept me wrong most of the time. Not that there were any great revelations or mysteries, but it certainly wasn’t predictable. Unfortunately, once the stage is set, and the plot progresses, the pacing becomes a bit sluggish. There are long pauses in direction and certain redundancies that were noticeable. This could be a detractor for some, and I admit I may have been less affected by this shortcoming because of my interest in the casting. Those less impressed with the actors or directors may become bored. Dead Man Down was released on Friday, March 8th 2013; opening at #5 on its debut weekend earning back $5 million of its $30 million production budget. However, up against Disney’s The Great and Powerful Oz, a film, which has been endlessly promoted for over six months, a #5 position, is still a respectable opening for a revenge film.