The Enforcer (2022)
In (and as) The Enforcer Antonio Banderas plays one of the most used archetypes in crime thrillers: the worn-out hit man in search of redemption.
Banderas plays Cuda and drives around Miami in a Barracuda, hence his nickname. Cuda is divorced and has little or no contact with his daughter, who is almost sixteen. It makes him feel like a failure.
When he rescues teenage girl Billie (Zolee Griggs) from a predicament, he sees the opportunity to do some good by taking care of her a little. At the same time, he has been instructed by his boss Estelle (Kate Bosworth) to train the young fighter Stray (Mohjean Aria) as his assistant.
When Billie is kidnapped, Miami turns out to be full of scum and Cuda goes all out with the help of Stray to find the perpetrators.
The Enforcer was written by W. Peter Iliff, who has made his mark with scripts for Point Break, Patriot Games, and Under Suspicion in the past. The story of The Enforcer, however, contains more clichés than usual and even though they are served up with a certain flair by debuting feature film director Richard Hughes, the story starts to suffer from ‘hitman in search of redemption’ fatigue in the second half.
Banderas plays the kind of Dad Movie role that colleagues like Liam Neeson and Gerard Butler seem to specialize in, and even though he's not the sort of actor to phone it in, the character gives him little chance to rise above it all.
Bosworth - the other star in the film - has the kind of role where all she has to do is sit behind a desk, which makes sense from a budget point of view because you can shoot such a role in a day or two, at most.
Even though The Enforcer will probably make most of its money on PVOD, I got to see the movie on the big screen and it has some saving graces. Young actors Griggs, Aria and Alexis Ren as Stray's girlfriend Sloane give it their best shot and derserve more roles. Especially Aria has a Jesse Pinkman kind of energy which may take him far.
And I won’t be surprised if director Hughes ends up making bigger and better movies. The talent is there, it is just the material that is lacking here.