Hey gang, Valkor here. The next film on deck for MediaView stars
Vinnie Jones, whom I’ve always known as a brutish thug from such
films as Ambushed,
The
Bleeding, and Blood
of Redemption with a penchant for murder. In his latest film,
Kill Kane, he gets to switch roles from being a thug to vigilante…
with a penchant for murder. And you know what? I can dig it! Oh,
and prepare for spoilers.
In "Kill Kane", Vinnie Jones plays teacher and family man, Ray Brooks, who after witnessing a gangland-style execution, is tracked down by gangsters and has his family – son, wife and daughter executed right before he takes a bullet to the chest. From the gangster's perspective, Ray was supposed to be dead, however, he was put in an induced coma for 3 months and when he awakens, he’s told that his family did not survive. Now, what’s a man to do after surviving such a harsh scene? He decides to extract some revenge against those who did him wrong, starting from the low man on the totem pole until he reaches the man responsible for it all – Kane Keegan (Sean Cronin). The police, mainly Detective Shelby (Sebastian Street), suspect that Ray might be the one taking out Kane’s men. And on the night that Ray is hot on Kane’s trail, Shelby follows along, leading up to a three-man standoff, where someone gets taken out. And what happens to Ray afterward, will change his life forever.
The last time I watched a film about a guy who watched his family murdered right before his eyes before he’s presumed murdered, he went on a murderous rampage of justice (pic below very related). And while Ray’s trail isn’t as bloody - so far, it’s still quite familiar. And that puts a smile on my face.
The Good:
"Kill Kane", from the box art, looks like something of an action movie, but comes across more like a drama; and while it lacks tons of bullets flying and explosions (the box art shows Ray standing behind a wall of flames… but that never happens), it’s still 74 minutes of pure awesome! It’s short, sweet and it wastes little time getting right to the point of Jone’s character popping off baddies. In betwixt all the murders we’re given flashbacks of Ray’s family murders, which all but fuels his rage and pushes him forward to do what he feels he must do. And by the end of it all, it would appear that Ray’s story isn’t quite done. And if that’s truly the case and we get more out of him, then yes, yes and yes! I was most impressed with Jone’s performance as an anti-hero, vigilante; I had doubts that he could carry the film in such a manner – no, not just of him carrying the film, but to also pull it off as a good guy. However him being a vigilante type works best in his favor as he still gets to have a bit of a mean streak, yet it’s a mean streak for the forces of good and it works out perfectly! In the end, I have to say I was more than impressed with Jone’s outing in Kill Kane and I hope this isn’t the last we see of Ray, which I hope comes with a touch more action.
The Bad:
Yea it definitely needed more action; not that the film was boring, but it could’ve used maybe one or two more of Ray’s brand of justice on a couple more thugs. Think Punisher: Warzone, where things are taken to the extreme! Next film… maybe?
The Ugly:
N/A
Kill Kane is out now in the UK and will get a US release on March 16th (according to Amazon). And as much as I am a fan of Vinnie Jones playing a bad guy, after watching this film, I’m definitely OK with him being a hero… even if it’s a vigilante type. And out of TOV 5 stars, I’m giving Kill Kane a 4.
