Extra damaging than underwritten character dynamics is the general tone of “Street Home,” which wanted to be much more tactile to be efficient. It is a film by which it’s essential to really feel the warmth of the Florida Keys, the affect of a punch, the thud of a physique hitting the ground. Oh, the over-crafted noises are there, nevertheless it’s all so clearly created in a CGI lab. It’s bizarre as a result of the combat scenes which might be fast—like the primary one with the bikers, when Dalton disarms a person by making him unable to shoot, have an immediacy that works. However at any time when “Street Home” has to go “prolonged combat sequence,” you’ll be able to see ALL the strings. Punches and their reactions seem like minimize scenes in a online game far too usually, particularly a protracted bar brawl and a ship sequence in the long run which have CGI so janky that I ponder if the explanation that Prime didn’t need this on a giant display screen was as a result of folks could be much less more likely to discover on a small display screen.
After which there’s Conor McGregor as Knox, a sociopath who launches like he was shot out of a cannon into the again half of the film to complete the job with Dalton. Knox brings a spark to a film that is getting dry, however McGregor’s efficiency is equally fascinating and baffling, delivered virtually solely by means of a large grin like he’s doing a bit at a weigh-in earlier than a match. He struts and smiles like an aggro Popeye, and it seems like Liman advised him to go excessive and so McGregor shot to the moon. There are occasions when his awkward line readings sound abjectly improper, however possibly that’s intentional? It’s a continuing push-and-pull of whether or not or not McGregor is purposefully awkward as a result of Knox is a sociopath or if the fighter simply doesn’t but know how you can put phrases collectively on display screen. Debate amongst yourselves.
As foolish because it sounds, that push-and-pull between realism and cartoonish madness that rests in McGregor’s efficiency is indicative of the standard of the film general. Gyllenhaal is making one film—a narrative of an almost-Zen fighter pushed previous his breaking level—whereas folks like Magnusson and McGregor lean into the ridiculousness within the different half. The 2 by no means come collectively. In fact, there are numerous ‘80s films with grounded heroes and exaggerated villains, however this new “Street Home” makes one respect the stability of these extra. And the shortage of CGI.
This evaluate was filed from the SXSW Movie Competition. It premieres on Prime Video on March 21.