“Security”: A Lackluster “Die Hard” Imitation Starring Antonio Banderas
This film presents Antonio Banderas as a night watchman with a military past in what can only be described as a poor imitation of “Die Hard.”
Eddie (Antonio Banderas), a former Marine captain, struggles to find work after his discharge. Desperate, he’s willing to accept any job, regardless of the pay or conditions. He finally lands a job as a security guard at a hypermarket, working the night shift with a few other down-on-their-luck individuals. On his very first night, a terrified young girl runs into the mall. She turns out to be a witness in a case against a group of mobsters who murdered her father. The criminals tried to snatch her from the police, but she miraculously escaped. Now, Eddie and his colleagues, armed only with tasers, are her only hope.
It’s worth noting that Alain Desrochers’ second film, “Nitro,” outperformed Hollywood hits like “Die Hard 4.0” and “Ratatouille” at the Quebec box office in 2007.
A Latecomer to the “Die Hard” Clone Trend
While the trend of “Die Hard” clones faded in Hollywood last century, it seems to have only just reached French Canada. This is evident in Franco-Canadian director Alain Desrochers’ low-budget genre film, “Security,” which could accurately be described as “Die Hard in a Hypermarket.” This would have been a more honest and fitting title for Desrochers’ film.
To be fair, it’s not a direct copy of John McTiernan’s classic. However, every change the Canadian filmmakers made only worsened “Security,” and by a significant margin. For example, the screenwriters gave the action-oriented protagonist sidekicks, but they are such “losers” that they only look ridiculous, get in Eddie’s way, and die one after another. As a result, there’s more bloodshed than necessary (in such action films, it’s usually the villains who should die to avoid depressing the audience), the mall’s defense is poorly organized, and Eddie loses his lone-hero aura, sharing screen time with characters that viewers simply don’t care about.
Casting Missteps
Banderas, sporting a beard and a deliberately grim expression, looks worse than usual, and it’s debatable whether the film would have benefited from more screen time for the star of “Desperado.” Meanwhile, Ben Kingsley, who plays the villain, is too old for such a role. The seventy-year-old actor doesn’t seem frail, but in this type of film, he should be playing a mafia boss who orders the hit, not the leader of the actual perpetrators. This role calls for an actor who is twenty to thirty years younger. Kingsley still has plenty of charisma, but his presence among the attackers makes the villains comical, despite the film’s insistence that they are super-mercenaries.
Overall, “Security” suffers from serious casting issues. The secondary villains lack truly memorable performances, the supporting characters are irritating, and even the teenage girl at the center of the conflict isn’t as endearing as Kathrine Heigl in “Under Siege 2” or Alyssa Milano in “Commando.” Although, of course, this is a matter of taste.
One of the villains is played by Vietnamese-American actor Cung Le, a former world kickboxing champion.
Underwhelming Action and Production
What about the stunts, fights, and shootouts? There are plenty, but they are so primitive that “Security” pales in comparison to decent action films from the 1980s, let alone today’s blockbuster extravaganzas. Even “Home Alone,” which the film occasionally references, had better action. And that was a children’s comedy, not an adult action film! Even the hero’s fight with the “final boss” (due to Kingsley’s age, this role is played by one of the villain’s younger henchmen) is unremarkable. And the hypermarket interiors are used far less inventively than, say, in “Dawn of the Dead,” which also takes place in a mall.
In conclusion, unless you adore “Die Hard” clones and watch every film with Banderas, there’s nothing for you at a screening of “Security.” It’s a weak film of the kind that used to be released only on video.