Classified Movie Review – Aaron Eckhart’s Action Thriller Shoots Itself in the Foot

Let’s start by saying that if you have read nothing about Classified, keep it that way. The publicity material spoils a major plot twist in the film and one can imagine director Roel Reiné isn’t too pleased about it. That being said, this action thriller telegraphs its every step like an amateur fighter in their first sparring session, becoming a highly predictable and gigantic misfire.

Classified sees Aaron Eckhart play Evan Shaw, a seasoned CIA hitman who receives instructions on his next hit from the coded ads in the “Help Wanted” section of the newspaper. Everything he thought to be true is turned upside down after MI6 analyst Kacey Walker (Abigail Breslin) arrives on the scene and informs him that the division he works for had been shut down years earlier. So, who has Evan been carrying out hits for all this time? It’s time for him and Kacey to find out.

This action thriller reeks of an underdeveloped story with only momentary bright sparks of action 

Within the first act of Classified, the average viewer should predict the big twists of this Bob DeRosa-penned script. Every cliche of the action genre comes to fruition, bordering on parody as these characters act and behave in ways that make everyone question how they made it into intelligence agencies in the first place. What’s remarkable is how blissfully unaware they are of everything around them and believe whatever anyone tells them. There’s an early scene where Evan searches the net to find out more information about his friend, Kevin Angler (Tim Roth), who has been dead for ages. Yet, the audience must believe Evan never bothered to check up on – or Google – Kevin to see how his old pal is doing before? 

Roel Reiné does what he can with the material at hand, though. The filmmaker more than proved himself capable of making magic out of a ham sandwich budget, delivering exciting action sequences in films like Hard Target 2 and Fistful of Vengeance. Sure, they aren’t exactly Die Hard or John Wick, but they’re popcorn movies. Reiné brings the same sensibilities here, injecting urgency, accuracy, and excitement into the fight scenes. In fact, the only complaint here is that Classified should have featured more of them to distract everyone from the pointless story.

This tumultuous production resulted in uneven and apathetic performances from Aaron Eckhart and Abigail Breslin

Considering how much screen time Aaron Eckhart and Abigail Breslin share, the expectation is that there would be some kind of synergy between their characters. There is none. At the same time, it would be irresponsible to not mention there were publicized issues between Breslin and Eckhart on the set of Classified. As per USA Today, she accused her co-star of “aggressive, demeaning, and unprofessional behavior,” and wrote a letter to the Screen Actors Guild about her experience on set. Subsequently, Classified‘s producers sued Breslin, claiming a breach of contract.

This uneasy tension between Breslin and Eckhart comes across on screen. While this plays well into the initial meeting of their characters and their uncertainty of each other, they never build a logical rapport as the story develops. There’s zero chemistry between them as they sleepwalk through the entirety of the film and speak at rather than to each other.

Tim Roth’s character, Kevin Angler, feels wasted, too. While he plays an important part in the overall storyline, his motivations remain murky. The script also doesn’t do a good-enough job of convincing anyone about the friendship between Kevin and Evan in the flashback sequences. An additional scene or two could have solidified this.

Is Classified worth watching?

Apart from a few brief moments of aesthetically pleasing action, Classified stumbles and spills all its “secrets” in the first act. Nothing surprises here. If an action movie is what a viewer is in the mood for, rather watch Take Cover or The Shadow Strays, which are infinitely better than this disappointing film.

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