Pay no attention to the poster, Sly’s part is small in this heist flick that shows promise early on, but ends up, most likely, a victim of its low budget, most of which was spent on Sly’s appearance.
But Jason Patric is an underrated and overlooked actor who brings just the right tone to his part as an armored car driver whose partner is his son. Together the two will have a very bad day, thanks to gangster Sly and his trigger-happy henchmen.
Given the job of transporting a suspicious package James (Patric) and his son, Casey are on the road and on the way before they are suddenly stopped on a bridge by Sly and company, who want whatever is inside that truck—they know something that the innocent drivers don’t.
So far so good. But after the bad guys find a way to turn the truck upside down, our heroes are trapped inside. And here they will remain as the minutes of this movie slowly tick by. This is what I mean by the low budget- to film two actors in a stationary place that’s long on waiting and short on action is a money-saving way to get through much of the narrative, but it isn’t too exciting for the viewer.
After way too long, there is an uptick in the action and the danger that the heroes put themselves in to protect their wares and their lives is the key. The rather anonymous shooters are pretty menacing-another plus, but Stallone doesn’t have much to do compared to the rest of the cast. He still looks pretty badass holding a rifle, though.
I’m a fan of Mr. Stallone, and have happily interviewed him several times over the years-I am not trashing anyone for making whatever living they can-even if the paycheck is in the millions for a day’s work or two.
But I can’t recommend this beyond a weeknight rental, though diehards can see it on the big screen, as Armor is being released simultaneously in theaters, On Demand, and on digital on November 22nd.
