Great performance by Mel Gibson in an otherwise run-of-the-mill action film. In this B-movie, a rugged ex-con tries to keep his daughter safe from the drug lords who are hunting her down (it’s always the drug lords). The capable direction and picturesque desert scenery give a bigger-budget feel to the movie, and the action scenes are original enough so that we don’t feel we’ve seen the same things a million times before (as I did with “John Wick”). But it’s Gibson and his humorously self-deprecating “reluctant warrior” persona that makes the movie watchable; without an actor as extremely talented and engaging as he is, this movie would be simply nothing. Interest plummets close to zero in every scene in which Gibson is not on camera (which thankfully aren’t that many). It’s great to see Gibson back in a role that showcases his abilities, after years of professional purgatory due to his alcoholism and his drunken anti-Semitic comments. It’s no coincidence that the protagonist is a recovering alcoholic, as Gibson is, and it’s hard not to think that some of his dialog is coming as much from the real Gibson as from the fictional character, particularly the comment in which Gibson says he knows he’s been a jerk (using another term that I won’t repeat here) and that all he can now do is simply stay away from the booze. 

Extra:

• According to recovering drug addicts, alcoholism is harder to beat by far than any other drug addiction—even more difficult than heroin, crack, meth and other drugs. Keeping that in mind can give us a little more insight into the hardship of people affected by alcoholism, both those in the public eye like Gibson and those we may know in our personal lives.