Michael B. Jordan plays Navy SEAL John Clark in the new release “Without Remorse,” journeying across borders to avenge the death of his wife and unborn child. The film is based on a 1993 novel of the same name by Tom Clancy. This thriller doesn’t stand out much when compared to a lineup with others in its respective genre. Directed by Stefano Sollima, this action-packed film was released on April 30 and is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime.
“Without Remorse” begins with little character development for Jordan’s character and his family. The entire story lies on Clark’s rage resulting from the death of his family, but after a quick introduction, the story immediately continues, leaving little time to mourn. The lack of character building makes the plot less interesting because the audience is not given enough time to enjoy these characters before a cascade of violence.
The film can feel long and drawn out, even with a runtime of one hour and 49 minutes. “Without Remorse” continually relies on the action-filled scenes to make up for the quality lost in the beginning of the film. Adding more scenes to the runtime wouldn’t have hurt this film and would have significantly improved the storyline. There needed to be more when it came to Lauren London’s screen time. London’s character, Pam Kelly, is essential for the plot line because she is the turning point of the film, and killing off her character too soon did not do this film justice. The dramatic effect of Kelly’s death did not have as big of an impact as it would have if there was more to know about her character beforehand.
The film does introduce somewhat of a plot with interesting twists, but they can be seen from a mile away. The diversity seen throughout the film is quite possibly the best part. Jodie Turner-Smith has a significant role as Karen Greer, and showcases a great performance as a woman in a position of power. Other than Jordan as the lead role, Turner-Smith made this film.
Jordan shines in his ability to play great characters. Sadly, “Without Remorse” didn’t let him shine as bright as other films like “Black Panther’’ or “Creed.” Jordan encapsulates his mourning character well, but the action in the film overtook his performance. Grief is a hard emotion to portray on screen, and Jordan deserves a round of applause for capturing it in several ways. The foundation for the film’s events depends on Jordan portraying his character’s emotional suffering and without his performance, the entire film would have been an extremely bland watch.
The action-packed scenes in the film were nice to watch. The film also introduces gore, but not to the point where it’s unbearable to watch, if anything, it was the perfect amount. “Without Remorse” has some great qualities that make it a decent watch, but overall, the bad outweighs the good.
The film wasn’t unbearable to watch but it would have been nice to see a little more focus on the storyline. The diversity in “Without Remorse” is without a doubt the best part and separates the film from others in the same genre.
