The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Too Kin-etic
Director sinks action-filled ‘The 355’ despite strong female-forward cast
A man lets down some good women with “The 355.”
The action movie starring the appealing female foursome of Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Diane Kruger and Penelope Cruz is torpedoed by the lackluster direction of Simon Kinberg.
A prolific producer and writer on both big- and small-screen projects, he made his feature directorial debut with the so-so 2019 “X-Men” flick “Dark Phoenix.”
He takes a step back with “The 355,” which alternates between being distractingly hyper-kinetic in its action sequences and borderline-lifeless in stretches that depend on dialogue.
The affair begins well enough, with a couple of powerful and seemingly nefarious men 150 miles south of Bogota, Colombia, trying to make a deal involving the sale of a piece of tech with the potential to disrupt computer systems large and small the world over.
After the meeting is interrupted by a heavily armed Colombian intelligence force, the device ends up in hands of one of those agents, Luis Rojas (Edgar Ramirez of “The Girl on the Train”). Seeing this as an opportunity to provide a better life for his family, he agrees to sell the device to the United States government for a mere $3 million.
Enter Chastain’s CIA agent Mason “Mace” Brown, who, along with colleague Nick Fowler (Sebastian Stan, “Avengers: Endgame”), is tasked with making the exchange in Paris.
Mace is annoyed when her good friend Nick informs her they will pose as newlyweds on their honeymoon. This seems unnecessary to her (and to us).
“Try the ring on,” he says in a Paris hotel room. “See if it fits.”
“Hmm,” she says with a surprising tone after sliding it on her finger. “It’ll do.”
He takes this opportunity to share his feelings for her, and while she initially resists — he’s her best bud, and she doesn’t want to lose him and whatnot — sparks do fly.
Soon, though, it’s all business for the pair. And after Kruger’s rival German agent Marie interrupts the all-important swap at a Parisian cafe, we get a twoheaded foot chase through the streets of Paris — with Mace pursuing Marie and Nick going after Luis. Decently constructed, these parallel sequences represent the high point of “The 355.”
As the movie progresses, Mace recruits an old friend into the quest to retrieve the device: reluctant former MI6 ally and computer specialist Khadijah (Nyong’o). Realizing they have a common goal, they soon team with Marie, as well as Graciela (Cruz), a psychologist for the Colombian intelligence agency who, thanks to her connection to Luis,
has become tied to the device in an important way.
At times, you feel maybe it’s enough to watch Chastain (“Zero Dark Thirty,” “Molly’s Game”), Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave,” “Black Panther”), Kruger (“Inglourious Basterds,” “In the Fade”) and Cruz (“Vanilla Sky,” “Murder on the Orient Express”) share the screen, but that doesn’t prove to be the case.
The talented quartet is let down not only by the herky-jerky direction of Kinberg, but also by the screenplay he co-wrote with Theresa Rebeck (NBC’s “Smash,” “Trouble”), who is credited with the story.
The tale does offer at least a couple of twists, but one is much too telegraphed
by Kinberg, and another is underwhelming.