Aftermath Review

    Dickens was onto something by naming one of his novels Great Expectations; they really do colour how you react and ultimately feel about things. In this case, Netflix's little preview set me up for a revenge thriller that would be more talking and less punching but still keep the tension humming.

    Instead, I was treated to over an hour of pretty much nothing happening, then something momentous coming out of the blue in a rush, followed by an awkward fast forward and epilogue of sorts. The acting wasn't bad (Arnie has clearly learnt over the years) but the writing was cumbersome and made little sense from a narrative perspective. And the worst was the pacing and lack of character development.

                                                                [SPOILERS (-ish) from this point on]

    Looking at the true events the film is based on and the broad strokes of the film, the idea was actually quite interesting. Had we seen a development in Schwarzenegger's character, an evolution (or devolution) in his emotions and sanity, then the climatic moment would make sense. But other than the two main characters (shout out to Scoot McNairy for a solid and believable performance, despite the script), everyone else's role seemed to be to forward the plot, regardless of any distinguishing characteristics. Take Tessa, the book-writing reporter: what sense does it make that she would personally meet with both men but never mention how the other was reacting? Or that she hand out Jake/Pat's address to Roman without asking a single question nor offering a word of caution? Her whole purpose in the film - given that we never see her do an interview, nor does any of her writing have any weight in the story - was simply to be the vehicle of information going from A to B, thus enabling the final act.

    All in all, while I expected nothing more than an entertaining film, I still ended up disappointed.

Conclusion: Nuh-uh [what is this?]

Aftermath came out in 2017.