“No Good Deeds†is no good
September 14, 2014
No one should leave a movie emotionless. The film’s job is to evoke feelings within you.
A lack of feeling means a movie did the bare minimum.
“No Good Deeds” (Rated PG- 13; 84 min) is the bare minimum of what it takes to be a film.
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“No Good Deeds,” is directed by Sam Miller, and stars Idris Elba, Taraji P. Henson, Leslie Bibb and Henry Simmons.
When a former district attorney becomes a stay-at-home mom, she finds herself missing her old life. Her problems become worse when an escaped convict swindles his way into her house. Now she will do everything in her ability to help her and her children survive. In the process, she also finds out a secret behind the murderer in her home.
The terms contrived, unoriginal and uninspired are directly related to terrible movies, especially when talking about newer films. It is a problem Hollywood seems to be having a lot lately.
“No Good Deeds” goes beyond the general definitions of all three words.
Starting from a place of unoriginality is not a terrible thing. Clichés are there for a reason and can be a great to start to any creative project.
But when an entire movie is just one giant cliché, with a bunch of little clichés shoved in it as well, problems arise.
This is a reoccurring plot, seen as early as the original “Halloween.”
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A crazed killer gets into someone’s home and they fight to survive. The way to make this type of film original is to introduce dynamic and exciting characters.
This movie takes stock characters from an episode of “Law and Order: SVU,” and films like “Obsessed” and throws them in a script.
The antagonist is a psychopathic killer, which is all that can be said about him. He is the type one would see in a 1980 slasher film.
Instead of being a scary and unstable man, why doesn’t the villain more come off as seductive and smooth talking throughout the film? He does not break his way into the house and this woman’s life like a brute, but instead tricks her into letting him in through her front door, showing the extent of his intelligence.
Is it not frightening to see this suave man turn into a brute after his plans break? This is more devastating when you realize Idris Elba is portraying the killer, one of the most compelling actors of our time.
Another common occurrence in today’s movies is the waste of a talented cast. Both Henson and Elba are award-winning actors who deserve a lot better than this film has to offer.
While Henson is given the most diverse role of the entire film, she is limited to awful dialogue.
Her character change is obvious but insignificant. It never seemed like anything else new and interesting could happen to the character.
Skip “No Good Deeds.” It is just better to stay at home and save your money. Read a book or actually do your homework assignments on time for once. Be productive by not seeing this movie.
Jacob Pierce can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JacobPierce1_DE or at 536-3311
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