[Review] Ava(2020) {5.5/10}

Directed by Tate Taylor and written by Matthew Newton, the film stars Jessica Chastain (Ava), John Malkovich (Duke), Common (Michael), Geena Davis (Bobbi), Colin Farrell (Simon), Ioan Gruffudd (Peter Hamilton) and Joan Chen (Toni).

The film follows Ava (Jessica Chastain) who is a glamorous mercenary who's hired for high-profile assassinations in exotic locations. When a very public hit goes wrong, she returns home for the first time in nine years. Forced to confront her past, present, and future at the same time, she must decide whether she's worth fighting for.

Ava certainly has all the elements to make an intriguing thriller, but ultimately Chastain's mercenary with a moral compass is lifeless. Her backstory is compelling: A party-loving high school valedictorian's life goes askew when fun becomes dependence. She tries to clean up and start a new life in the Army, where her commanding officer recruits her to put her sniper skills to good use in a privatized black ops unit. But she needs to know that she's on the right side of justice, so she prods her targets to tell her why someone's put a hit out on them. And that swiftly becomes a problem for her "management." For viewers, the problem is that the script is rarely more elevated than that, at least not for Chastain's Ava. Some members of the cast take their hobbled material and run. John Malkovich delivers a superb peformance as her mentor and handler, making the most out of every scene. Geena Davis plays Ava's mother, delivering a monolgue you'll think about for weeks. But for Ava and the rest of the characters, it seems like the dialogue was scratched together between action sequences which are also lacking, at least when Chastain is involved which is most of the time. She doesn't sell the fight scenes: Their choreography is transparent through her movements. Ava's the character is written to show some vulnerability, but Chastain's steely embodiment makes Ava feel emotionless. Chastain has proven that she can portray women who are tough, determined, and able to best even the most skilled at their own game but as emotionless assassin Ava, she just doesn't execute. All in all, its Jessica Chastain’s charisma and star power that save the day for Ava. Otherwise, it’s an unimaginative plot with less thrill and more clichés. It is a miracle how a film with so much action can be this lifeless.

Ava is now available on Digital and Blu-ray.