The 355. Quick Review.

Welcome to 2022. This is the first review of a 2022 theatrical release from this author. As is standard for the time of year it’s of something that has been dumped in the COVID inflected theatrical wilderness during a pandemic. It has Unsurprisingly preceded to flop very hard. Say hello to The 355. A deeply uninspired female-centric Bourne knock off from Hollywood’s favourite screenwriting punching bag Simon Kinberg. The cost here is decidedly better than the material deserves. Jessica Chastain, Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger and Bingbing Fan slum their way through a generic modern spy narrative that’s desperate to convince the audience it has at least seen a Paul Greengrass film. Beyond the sort of choppy action sequences symptomatic of this type of solidly budgeted but choreography lacking action. The full package is decidedly inoffensive in its genericness. This author was left with two main thoughts as the film played out in front of him. What sort of blackmail do Kinberg and the general creative team have on these actresses to get them to star in this bland slop. Secondly, modern Hollywood action movies have decidedly moved on from the general aesthetic popularised by Greengrass and Matt Damon. The 355 feels at least five years out of date. This is if it one to release it at what was probably the very end of that trend it is hypothetically capitalising on. In 2022 action filmmakers are now desperately attempting to ape the work and authenticity of Chad Stahelski or Christopher McQuarrie era Mission Impossible. That said the green grass Damon style can still be well done when executed effectively. Unfortunately, The 355 is decidedly not the film to give the modern take on the spy action genre a resurgence
4/10.