The premise for Armor reads good on paper, but an obvious lack of budget and questionable script choices let down what could have become an instant classic action movie. It’s particularly disappointing considering the level of talent attached to this film. Even more telling is the fact that Sylvester Stallone, who is billed as one of the top stars on the poster, hasn’t recently promoted this movie on his highly active Instagram account when the release is right around the corner. It says all that needs to be said here.
Armor follows James (Jason Patric) and his son, Casey (Josh Wiggins), who work as armored truck security guards. During one of their routes, they are attacked by Rook (Stallone) and his goons, including the unpredictable Smoke (Dash Mihok), who want what’s inside their truck. With nowhere to run and stuck on a bridge, James and Casey barricade themselves inside their truck, trying to figure out their escape plan.
The behind-the-scenes mess reflects on screen
Let’s get the controversy out of the way. According to the Los Angeles Times, there’s a dispute over who really directed the film: Justin Routt, whose name is officially on the credits, or Randall Emmett, a controversial figure in the film industry. Crew members allege that Routt was on set, but it was Emmett who directed the film and it was a mad rush to the finish line. It sounds like an absolute mess and it translates in the final product too.
Reportedly, Sylvester Stallone was only on set for a single day, earning a cool $3.5 million for his efforts, and it’s easy to see how the filmmakers shot everything around this. Rook glides in and out of scenes, hoping that people don’t ask: “Hey, where’s the main bad guy here?” Considering most of the action takes place on a bridge, it’s not exactly like he can hide in the bushes, but hey, let’s pretend he’s auditioning for The Invisible Man sequel here.
This is 2024’s actionless action movie
The action proves to be just as crummy. Most of the film features the bad guys shooting at the stationary armored truck or trying to get James and Casey to come out, so it comes across like watching someone struggling to pick a lock for 90 minutes. The only exciting part is the beginning stages of the conflict where the villains chase down James and Casey. It feels like Speed but with an armored truck (though the mention of Speed might give Jason Patric flashbacks of a certain 1997 box office bomb). If Armor had centered around the chase element, it would have heightened the tension and likely resulted in a better movie.
It doesn’t help that the special effects look cheaper than an Asylum production either. Without spoiling anything, there’s a water scene in Armor that’s easily in the top 10 worst special effects sequences of the year. It looks and feels faker than an Instagram filter and there’s no way of getting around how Sharknado it appears. One wonders why the filmmakers didn’t pivot to something else if they didn’t have the budget to execute something like this. Narratively, they could have chosen two or three different routes to take, but it looks like someone was adamant this must feature in the movie.
Sylvester Stallone hardly features and Jason Patric looks like he’d rather be anywhere else
Besides Sylvester Stallone’s recognizable name, any other actor on the planet could have played Rook (and probably for a tenth of the pay too). There’s a halfhearted attempt to turn him into a villain with a heart, but Rook is largely a two-dimensional character that’s forgotten as soon as the film ends. Cory Todd Hughes and Adrian Speckert’s script could have used a few more drafts to either refine the character or remove him entirely to make Dash Mihok’s Smoke the central antagonist. While Smoke is the generic “greedy and crazy bad guy,” his temperamental tendencies could have allowed for more unexpected fun in the earlier action scenes. Mihok unleashes his full potential in the third act, but it’s all too little, too late.
Armor attempts a subplot of Jason Patric’s James and Josh Wiggins’ Casey reconnecting. James hides his drinking from his son who believes his father kicked his habit a while ago. The peril they’re put in forces James to open up to Casey and rediscover what matters most in life. It’s all clumsy and paint-by-the-numbers drama that doesn’t feel authentic because of how disinterested Patric appears. Wiggins gives it his all, but Patric sleepwalks his way through the movie as if he’s only contractually obliged to be there and couldn’t wait to get home.
Is Armor worth watching?
Armor runs out of steam fast. Despite it being a lean 89 minutes in length, it drags and feels like a movie made out of a singular idea for a scene. One could excuse the lack of story and cookie-cutter characters as long as the action explodes and keeps the viewer on the edge of the seat, but that’s even a bigger disappointment here. This is one movie worth skipping because there’s nothing that’ll help the audience shield the onslaught of boredom.
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The Review
Armor
Shield your eyes from watching Armor.
Review Breakdown
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Verdict
