Canary Black (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – It follows Avery Graves as she is blackmailed by terrorists into betraying her own country to save her kidnapped husband.

My Take – Though Kate Beckinsale well showed off her dramatic side in a few serious roles during the late ‘90s, it was 2003’s Underworld, which truly launched her into stardom as the action-horror presented her as a graceful and fierce heroine. With each new entry into the franchise, proving her emotional and physical commitment to the role.

In the years since, Beckinsale has remained determined to take on female-led films that allow her to showcase her range and physicality, irrespective of the quality of the venture. Her latest too is no different, which sees her team up with director Pierre Morel, known for helming works like District 13 (2004), Taken (2008) and Peppermint (2018).

But while Beckinsale puts up yet another mesmerizing performance as the gritty heroine who is pushed to her limits, the film stumbles on the fatal flaw of doing nothing exceptional, instead choosing to hover aimlessly between average and below average.

Dropped onto Prime Video with little fanfare, the spy caper is an instantly forgettable replication of countless other action films that offers nothing to distinguish itself from every other action film out there.

Yes, Kate Beckinsale‘s questionable film choices can be an important point to raise, but even she definitely deserves better than this. Mainly as director Morel does nothing to make the final product look or feel more than the passable and forgettable flick it is.

The story follows Avery Graves (Kate Beckinsale), a top CIA agent, who travels around the globe taking care of business for her superior, Station Chief Hedlund (Ray Stevenson), all the while being a loving spouse to David (Rupert Friend), a philanthropist. With whom she has made a comfy home in Croatia.

However, her domestic bliss is disrupted when David is kidnapped by a mystery man (Goran Kostić), who demands she bring him a special digital file known as Canary Black, which contains sensitive information so important that it might shift the balance of the world. Determined to save her innocent husband, who has no prior knowledge of her actual profession, Avery ends up complying, quickly venturing into the base to find the locked-up man carrying the information, only to find a hollow tooth.

Trusting only Hedlund with the details of her dangerous quest, Avery takes no prisoners as she attempts to stay one step ahead of the kidnappers, who are monitoring her every action. Looking to bring Avery down is Deputy Director Nathan Evans (Ben Miles) and Agent Maxfield (Jaz Hutchins), who are out to protect Canary Black and deal with a perceived traitor causing destruction wherever she goes.

What starts out as a Mission: Impossible inspired plot gradually turns into a full-blown, meandering and over-the-top James Bond-style world dominance story. The script, written by Matthew Kennedy, offers nothing fresh as it chooses to adopt little pieces from a couple dozen competent spy films released over the past 20 years.

Here, everything is sets at a low bar, from the generic characters to the cool looking gadgets. It also doesn’t help that everyone has to spout some truly horrid dialogue that is at times meant to sound like quips and banter but comes across as wooden and artificial, further giving the film the feel of a cheaper production masked by the presence of a famous lead.

That said, director Morel once again does well with the action sequences, especially the car chases across a European city. His abilities are displayed during an opening sequence in Tokyo. She’s after a flash drive that’s in the possession of bad guys, working through waves of security to reach her target, and he introduces the usual in modern action choreography.

Of course, the stunt doubles probably did the heavy lifting in the hand-to-hand combat scenes and sequences where Avery flies through the air holding on to a massive drone.

However, the film mostly relies on the strength of Kate Beckinsale’s charisma. Who, at 51, continues to land action heroine roles in an industry that turns its back on women over a certain age. With her trademark intensity and physicality, Beckinsale keeps things watchable, and helps paper over a number of elements that would otherwise leave you questioning everything transpiring on screen.

In supporting roles, Rupert Friend, Ben Miles, Jaz Hutchins and Saffron Burrows, do whatever they can with the characters handed to them, while Goran Kostić hams it up.

In one of his final roles, Ray Stevenson adds a bittersweet element to the proceedings. On the whole, ‘Canary Black‘ is yet another generic espionage action thriller bolstered by the always magnetic Kate Beckinsale.