Amazon has a winner with ‘The Wall’
UNSEEN VILLAIN ADDS CHILLS TO IRAQI WAR TALE
This week sees a psychological thriller by the name of “The Wall” open locally. This relatively small independent film, from new film studio Amazon, starts almost immediately and never lets up until the final credits.
It stars Aaron TaylorJohnson alongside WWE superstar John Cena (who, thankfully, plays a minor role) in this largely two-character movie. It is rated 14A with a coarse language and violence warning, and runs just 90 minutes — showing daily at 3:55, 7:00 and 9:45 p.m.
It has been described as a monster movie disguised as a war movie. “American Sniper” certainly paved the way for this genre, but more importantly a film like “The Phone Booth” — with its unseen sniper/villain — more accurately describes this picture.
Amazon studios says the following: “The Wall” is a deadly psychological thriller that follows two soldiers pinned down by an Iraqi sniper, with nothing but a crumbling wall between them. Their fight becomes as much a battle of will and wits as it is of lethally accurate marksmanship. Directed by Doug Liman (“Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “Edge of Tomorrow”), “The Wall” stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson (“Nocturnal Animals,” “Kick-Ass,” “Savages” “Godzilla,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron”) and WWE star John Cena (”Trainwreck,” “Daddy’s Home”). “The Wall” is written by first-time screenwriter Dwain Worrell.”
The film takes place in the middle of nowhere, in Iraq in late 2007, with the war officially over. It is a psychological stalker-and-prey thriller pitting a wounded American soldier against an unseen Iraqi sniper. Conveniently, the soldier and the sniper can communicate on a local frequency, giving rise to a verbal chess game occasionally punctuated by intense action sequences.
The back-and-forth between the soldier and the sniper is reminiscent of the banter between John McClain and Hans Gruber in the first “Die Hard,” or the conversations between Colin Farrell and his unseen tormenter in “Phone Booth.” The soldier must rely on background audio cues to help him figure out just where the deadly sniper is hiding. It’s a wise choice to never show the sniper. Like the killer in “Phone Booth” and so many villains in other films, the longer we go without seeing the tormenter, the more terrifying he becomes.
I hope that you will enjoy this one. We certainly were excited to meet with John Cena and discuss this project in Vegas back at CinemaCon and I feel that Amazon Studios has delivered yet another quality outing for our entertainment. See you at the movies! Please feel free to contact me with your comments or feedback — even an idea for an article — len@moviemill.com