Restless (2022)

Bad translation. Should've been Without Rest. Or Without Respite. Without a moment to calm down and contemplate. Sans Respit.

The movie is GOOD though. Better than expected.

It's a cops and robbers story with more than a few twists along the way, on corruption and justice, and friendship, and family and... I think the reason it ultimately doesn't get a top score from me is that all of these values come across a bit vague.

With the justice who gets it? With the friendship who gains it? With the family there's not much conflict to resolve. Not visible at least.

The girl clearly seems to love her father already. It's too easy.

The special effects aren't great either. The car getting crushed, the coat on fire - little things don't feel right. The car on fire's alright. The crashes look real. The intricacies of moving the body are clever - there's a lot of build, but then the most memorable parts aren't memorable enough.

Franck (yes that is the correct spelling) does show a wide range of emotion, as does his friend, but they're really the only ones.

The pacing's great, and the script's elaborate. It shines there.

Just wish they could've upped the ante on the visual level too, and maybe thrown in a liiittle bit more ferocity when you need it.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle