Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor are both great actors. Their performances here are for sure the best cards this film has to play. Not only do they both have great onscreen presence but they also have good romantic chemistry. We buy them as a couple, that aspect does not feel forced at all. Unfortunately for Locked Down, the actual plot and script feels underwhelming. The film as a whole just feels as if it doesn’t have a whole lot to it. It’s disappointing because a romantic heist film starring Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor sounds like a great film, but in reality what we have is a forgettable film that doesn’t make a very large impression.
Hathaway and Ejiofor’s scenes together are where the best of this thing emerges and in those scenes you can see how this could have been a better film. These two play off each other well and they’re just entertaining together; if only they had a more interesting plot to work with. It’s really cheating to call this film a “heist”. It’s only in the last like half hour does the “heist” become apart of the film and even then it’s not exciting.
The majority of this film is a romance about two people in quarantine together unpacking their issues, then in a late turn of events the “heist” comes into play. I feel like this film would have been better if there was no “heist” at all and it was simply a romantic drama about these people stuck together. As it stands, Locked Down feels like a confused film that doesn’t really know what it wants to be.
When you see the well acted confrontational scenes between the two, you can see the romantic drama this could have been and then maybe this project would have been worth the talent of Hathaway and Ejiofor. I think the film wants the “heist” to be an exciting Bonnie and Clyde type final half that’s meant to bring these two back together… but it just doesn’t resonate in that way.
The idea of an estranged couple being brought back together in a whirlwind by a “heist” is a fun concept that can work well, but it just wasn’t executed properly in this case. Oh and good lord, there are two stars in particular that are MASSIVELY wasted here. Ben Kingsley and Mindy Kaling pop in for like maybe five minutes each and they have nothing at all to do. I’m puzzled why two stars of their caliber chose to have tiny cameos that lack any substance at all, I have no clue what the thinking process behind those decisions were. Ben Stiller also has a small role as Hathaway’s boss and while his role is slightly bigger than Kingsley and Kaling’s, it’s still a wonder why he chose to be in this. Maybe all three of them just wanted some extra dough. Who knows but it’s a little puzzling.
At least, on top of the two stars nice chemistry they also both look really good. Ejiofor is very attractive in this role and he gets to show off his physique and well toned body in several scenes, so that’s good I guess. And Hathaway looks nice most of the time too, especially towards the end. I wouldn’t normally go into the physical attributes of the cast but this film is so forgettable and plain to where I don’t really have much else to talk about. This isn’t an awful film but it’s certainly not good either. When things are so dry and underwhelming that I’m talking about Chiwetel Ejiofor’s physique in a couple scenes, I think something is wrong.
Locked Down is an underwhelming film that comes off as confused and a waste of it’s lead talent.
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