One Line Review: An desperate attempt to make an immense action film but ended up being okay-ish.
Youtube Trailer To Kill a Mockingbird
Starring: Jason Momoa, Isabel Merced
Director: Brain Mandoza
Release Date: 20 August 2021
Introduction
First of all: WARNING! This is another action movie that Netflix has dubbed into many languages! This is of course a frinkin mess! If this dubbing trend continues, and if it spreads to more streaming services and channels, there is a risk that we will be as cashiers in English (and other languages) as people are in some other countries where film and TV are dubbed, at least in terms of pronunciation. Thankfully, it is possible to change the soundtrack of the film.
Analysis of plot and its problems
Sweet Girl has a serious problem. Basically here we have a typical, conventional action movie. By using the theme of pharmaceutical corruption and delivering entertainment in the midst of a pandemic, Netflix knows it will be able to strike a chord with this low-budget movie. After an introduction that will make the toughest of guys cry, Sweet Girl transports us slowly to a fairly classic revenge story, worthy of a Charles Bronson or Liam Neeson film.
Except that halfway, Sweet Girl commits an unforgivable crime. A slim, but straightforward story, and solid performances from Jason Momoa and Isabela Merced, have so far been doing a good job of keeping us entertained. Sweet Girl tries with a subtle, but rather flagrant turnaround, to offer us something other than a “man alone in front of a corporation”. As soon as our hero’s plans are turned upside down and an assassin perfectly played by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo kicks in, Sweet Girl transforms into a plane without an engine. The film slowly but surely hovers towards an inevitable crash.
We can only count on action sequences to entertain us. Sweet Girl puts at least some effort into this area. Jason Momoa is a regular in the genre and the people behind this project had a good idea to give Momoa plenty of tools to have fun. We can only appreciate the intentions. And it is without forgetting a chase in the four corners of Pittsburgh which enriches a work until then rather poor.
If it weren’t for Netflix, Sweet Girl might have had a fairly low-key DVD release. Because deep down, Sweet Girl is one of those films that we forget from the end credits…
Why Jason Momoa?
Jason Momoa has such a wonderful screen presence. But in this film, he has so little to do, though he did what he could with what he had to work with, it was as if his role was just a smidge above a cameo. And my goodness, I saw the ending coming a mile away. There were so many clues given that told the audience Momoa’s Ray character was dead, and this film was about Ray’s daughter Rachel’s revenge journey.
I can’t roll my eyes enough about that. Sweet Girl would have worked so much better if it just had a few flashback scenes of Ray, his wife, Rachel, and how Ray started his vendetta against the pharmaceutical company he blamed for the death of his wife. Then Rachel could have sworn on her dad’s and mom’s memory that she would avenge them and the film could have picked up from there.
Sometimes writers and directors try to be too slick for their own good and it drags a film down, and I feel that’s what happened with Sweet Girl. It’s worth a watch for a few minutes of Momoa, but other than that, it’s just a mediocre film that could have been much better if it had just gotten out of its own way.
Conclusion
SWEET GIRL is a fairly smooth action thriller. It’s not exactly bad, some action scenes are quite good, but it’s not particularly memorable, and some dialogue is quite withered; it’s a bit sentimental and Rachel’s remarks make her sometimes appear to be a little old.
But! Suddenly! When there are 20-30 minutes of the film left, there will be a twist that is completely impossible to predict. Unexpected is just the first name. However, the twist is more unexpected than good. The twist means that the plot becomes as far-fetched and illogical as it is impossible.
