What Is the Story About?
Blending the worlds of police enforcement and the criminal underground, AKA follows a special ops agent played by Lenoir whose politics,ethics and morality is put to test because of his unexpected bonding with the son of the boss of a crime syndicate he infiltrates (Lenoir).
Performances?
Lenoir plays Adam Franco, a special Ops agent who has a soft spot for young children like John Wick has for dogs. Lenoir pulls off an exceptionally physically demanding and mentally tough character with ease and carries the right charisma of an action hero with him. He pulls off a cliche filled and typical character in his own style and commands the screen like a cool cookie.
Analysis
Directed by Morgan S Dalibert, written by Dalibert himself and Alban Lenoir, who also leads the film alongside Eric Cantona, AKA is a run of the mill gangster-action thriller with its leading man in the centre of the system. The film doesn’t dissect the situation politically, but serves an entertaining and perhaps forgettable film.
AKA follows the familiar templates of films like John Wick (minus the slick East Asian style action), but albeit takes the story building of the protagonist, his intentions and backstory slowly unlike it’s American counterparts. Adam Franco is a special Ops agent who infiltrates a huge crime syndicate. Things move out of hands when he gets attached to the youngest kid of the mafia boss.
Franco tasked with the mission of gunning down a Sudanese warlord by infiltrating his kingdom through a local gangster’s troupe. The film further follows the track of the warlord’s problematic family and also takes on a dark chapter in Franco’s life. Although, these moments literally scream been there, done that, what’s appreciable is for once an action thriller doesn’t dump the whys and who’s of the protagonist hurriedly for action stuffing.
AKA is not devoid of cliches. In fact, there’s too much of it here. The directorial efforts are visible, but the screenplay misfires overpower all of that. Apart from the lead actor, the cast is uninteresting to the core. Awful dialogue delivery and boring proceedings in between also dims the film quite a lot until the kickass climax.
However, AKA’s action choreography is good. The placement of the action scenes, two sequences in particular are more than good. Probably action junkies crave for good action and a passable story. And AKA works that way. In fact, the film entertains you for 2 hours.
Other Artists?
Except Lenoir none of the other characters register, quite obviously. More like a slow moving star vehicle for Lenoir, the supporting characters appear to be speaking through a teleprompter at times because of the manufactured dialogue deliveries.
Music and Other Departments?
One of the biggest highlight of AKA is its action choreography. Some of the stunts are so well placed and gives the kick that you’ve been longing for from movies of this kind for a while. Etienne Forget’s music is forgettable, so is Delphine Rechon’s cinematography.
Highlights?
Action Choreography
Alban Lenoir’s Performance
Climax
Drawbacks?
Incoherent screenplay
Absence of genuine emotions
Poor casting choices
Terrible dialogues
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes. In parts.
Will You Recommend It?
Yes. But with reservations.
AKA Movie Review by Binged Bureau
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