The “355” was an anonymous female spy during the American Revolution. This symbolic reference shines brightly in the January release as we watch dominant women spies fight off groups of mercenaries from around the world to obtain a device deadly enough to end humanity. With a loaded cast and riveting action, this film should make waves for an early 2022 film with potential insights on a future series of 355 movies. Written and directed by Simon Kinberg, the film features Jessica Chastain (Mace), Penélope Cruz (Graciela), Diane Kruger (Marie Schmidt), Lupita Nyong’o (Khadijah), and Sebastian Stan (Nick), whose unique characters help to bring the film to its full potential.
This unseemingly group of agents join forces to fight criminal organizations with the same common goal. In the first couple of action scenes, we are introduced to Marie, a German spy whose unsettling past creates a cold and isolated character. Although appearing as an antagonist at first, she and Mace kept finding themselves at the exact locations to retrieve the device, ultimately leading to their camaraderie. Marie opens up throughout the film and through her new relationship with Mace, Khadijah, and Graciela as she adapts to not being alone and vulnerable. Although all four women are agents, they aren’t the four heroes you would expect. Jessica Chastain is known to play some very keen roles throughout her career and shines as the ‘badass’ leading agent.
The audience isn’t hit with an overwhelming display of a leading action star, but she is rather contempt, sweet, and admirable. She has the fighting and intelligence to be a “Bond” but doesn’t necessarily have the charm. This works well for the film as each of the four women brings something unique to the table. Marie provides the detached hero who seems almost emotionless; Khadijah is full of superintelligence and provides planning and organization. Graciela is full of emotion and is timid about any situation they are in. This movie would not be as enjoyable if the four women weren’t strategically different and had diverse backgrounds. This adds an element to the action that is very enticing.
With such a great cast, the only natural way this movie could be bad is with a lack of action or plot. The action in the film is ceaseless and just as, if not surpassing, the intensity in the previous fight scenes. From the first scene in the movie, we see high-level violence and an introduction of mercenaries. As the film progresses, up until the final scene, there is never a dull moment. Whenever there seems to be a lull in the action or a still moment, Kinberg has done it purposefully so that the breaking of comfort makes the film more intense. The actual device the women are after also helps develop the film well. Due to the device being capable of global reckoning, criminal organizations from all over the world are after it. In some scenes, we have criminals from multiple countries fighting each other to steal the device. This leads to very creative action scenes. We see numerous criminals all killing each other, with the women trying not to be seen by them and eventually stealing the device from whoever gets it last. The action takes place in different countries, keeping the viewer interested and aesthetically pleasing.
There are many twists and turns in the movie. In one of the first scenes, we see Mace with her partner Nick who is killed. Nick is not necessarily who we think he is and provides a lot more to the film than originally thought. There are other characters, including her boss Dr. Marks whose lives become uncovered throughout the film. As multiple characters’ true identities are revealed throughout the film, we are introduced to new characters who help the women obtain the device and some characters who prohibit them from reaching goals.
Verdict: 4/5
This movie is full of action that is enticing and full of surprises. The plot of the movie is solid and contains high amounts of intense and thorough action films. The multiple twists and turns Kinberg brings us to make coming to the ending all the more satisfying. These women might become a new line of female agents.
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