I rented some movies to watch while staying warm under a blanket and recovering from a nasty cold. None were any good so I cut them all off soon after they started but by chance I saw that Japanese TV was showing a US movie without dubbing it (for once). It was “The Way of the Gun” and initially looked like a pretty mindless way to drift in and out of sleep. However, after watching it I have to say it is probably the best kidnapping/action movie I have ever seen.
I was impressed by the complexity of its characters, their interaction, and the fact that the audience isn’t treated like an idiot. I never thought a movie with a name and plot like this could have subtlety. The action, for what it is worth, was also impressive, with everyone behaving like they actually had training in tactics rather than growing up on too many cheesy police shows. The bad guy bodyguards are even given a little more than the usual, with them hatching their own plots and affairs and also behaving half way intelligently.