‘VANQUISH’ LACKS THRILLS
Anyone wondering what “Ironside” would have been like if Raymond Burr had been a dirty cop gets their answer courtesy of Morgan Freeman in the dreadful new thriller “Vanquish.”
Freeman is the enigmatic Damon, who runs an illicit empire of drugs, gambling, prostitution and who knows what else, all from his wheelchair in his palatial oceanside house.
The opening credits are peppered with newspaper headlines over the decades telling us what a hero cop Damon was before he was shot in the line of duty.
Now the police are closing in on Damon’s empire, and Damon aims to collect the millions he has stashed in his various enterprises. Trouble is, his partners don’t want to give it up.
Well, Damon has the good fortune of having a former Russian assassin and drug courier working as his caregiver. Victoria (Ruby Rose, “Orange Is the New Black” ) looks to turn her life around for the sake of her young daughter
(Juju Journey Brener), but she has no idea that Damon is dirty. All she knows is he’s an ex-cop who helped get her out of prison. But Damon has her daughter kidnapped so he can make Victoria use her Liam Neeson-like “special skills” to pick up his money over the course of one dark, violent night.
Co-writer/director George Gallo tries to hide the script’s weaknesses with lots of gimmicks that seem to be reaching for some type of Luc Bessonish Eurotrash feel.But as the story is told from the point of view of Freeman’s character, which is static — basically sitting in the same room the whole movie — “Vanquish” often feels that way as well.