Erased (2012)

Aaron Eckhardt's acting was very good, the story was inventive, effects were great....but no cigar. It is amazing how a movie can have all the ingredients fir a great movie but, all together, they just don't taste that great. For me, I actually wanted the bad guys to keep the annoying, whiny, stupid daughter. It would have been nice if the dad had hauled off and smacked the little smart alec...but ack to the movie. Again, interesting idea. I think maybe Aaron Eckhardt's character needs to e a little more badass to really pull the viewer in. You kept waiting for him to start gently talking about global warming or the benefits of vegan instead of executing cold blooded killers. So close, guys. Decent to rent if you just want to watch something mindless

Fmovies: With the aesthetically pleasing cities of Brussells and Antwerp as the back drop, this exciting international thriller opens full throttle and keeps the pulse rate steady throughout. This movie contains all the necessary ingredients for success, including action, suspense, mystery and intrigue. Aaron Eckhart does well in this starring role and is ably assisted by a solid, mostly European cast which only adds authenticity to the movie. While not quite in the same class as "Bourne" or "Taken", it is never the less a strong effort from German born director Phillip Stolzl that will keep fans of this genre more than satisfied. Like a great meal enjoyed in a fine restaurant that lingers in your memories for days afterward, this motion picture sits well on the palate and will be recalled long after the credits have closed.

The Expatriate is one film that had the misfortune of having its trailer tell the entire story. Whoever did this promo clip ought to have taken a long hard look at his or her final work, and wonder how it could have been done without revealing too much. Making it worse is the admiration for Taken with the kidnapping of a daughter with the father in high pursuit, which gives the unfair impression that this is a cheap knock off, which it is not.

Written by Arash Amel and directed by German Philipp Stolzl, The Expatriate is almost like a Jason Bourne movie, with lead character Ben Logan (Aaron Eckhart) exhibiting a particular skillset that surprises his daughter Amy (Liana Liberato), who had gone to Brussels in order to spend some quality Dad time, only for the world as she knows go into a topsy-turvy. They get shot at multiple times by different pursuers, have the cops looking for them, and his dad's co-workers all wind up dead. To make matters worse, they have to discover why they're in someone else's bad books, and have to make it out alive when odds become increasingly stacked against them. But it went from Bourne to Taken with that kidnapping of Amy, though thankfully it was something more of an unnecessary sub-arc just to get Ben to be acting alone in the climax, with the villains using her as a bargaining chip to keep Ben at bay.

In essence, this turned out to be a standard action thriller that involves big bad corporations and covert agencies with sneaky agents who are comfortable out their doing the dirty work for whoever can pay a good price. Not to mention some behind the scenes, under table collaboration and influence that corrupt corporation big wigs have over those in the seat of power, since any campaign requires backing, usually of the financial kind. Here, we see how corporations obtain inside knowledge from those who can be bought, which makes it especially easy when these officials also have a selfish interest to pursue. In The Expatriate, this involves technology, framing, and the need to obtain classified documents so that they can either be altered or destroyed to avoid further implication, especially when something else gains worldwide attention, and further investigation would bring to light many embarrassing points.

Aaron Eckhart remains one of my favourite character actors, but as an action hero, I'm afraid not. The filmmakers tried to cover up using very Bourne techniques of fast edits and quick cuts, but it's too obvious Eckhart is no fighter, and was found a little bit wanting in action scenes. Those that require a little more brains than brawn, highlighting his skill as a black ops engineer, was more believable. And there was a bit on the details gone into assembling a briefcase bomb as well, though not as instructional for obvious reasons. Liana Liberato would likely polarize audiences though, because her character's too whiny, and complains at almost every stage the father-daughter pair find themselves in. Although proving to be useful at times, Liana did her best with the unpopular role of whining for the most parts. And having Olga Kurylenko was nothing more than a coup to have an additional recognizable name on the marquee, her role being pretty small, used to explain some romantic liaisons between Ben and her Anna Brandt, whose loyalty gets severely questioned, and a flip-flopper when it comes to making decisions.

With an ending that depended largely on the bad guys' over-confidence that bordered on arrogance and ignorance, it was a tad to

Erased fmovies. Ben Logan (Aaron Eckhart) is a security technology researcher in Belgium for the Halgate Group. His daughter Amy (Liana Liberato) is not happy with the move after losing her mother. He reports a missing patent in their tech to his boss Derek Kohler. Later, he discovers that the office suddenly cleared out and the head office has no records of him. A co-worker kidnaps them but Ben manages to kill him. Clues lead to his former life with co-worker Anna Brandt (Olga Kurylenko) and a vast murderous conspiracy.

There is a bit of Bourne and Taken but less. It has Eckhart. It should be good but it's only passable. The setup is interesting but any early momentum slowly fades away. It becomes formulaic without anything new or particularly great. The action is lacking something special. Having the daughter presents some potential but it ends up being more of the same. This needs some imagination and sizzle to elevate it to a higher level.

Erased (2012)

Can we make a new genre here? British/American executive/spy/father gets in trouble in Europe and has to go on the run with corporate/government/counterspy evil everywhere.

I could list some (never mind the great Bourne films, which are extremes of the type). Certainly the "Taken" films (there are three now) are the closest parallel, but even "The International" comes to mind in the same vein. All of these have a sense of fear and darkness about the global order that glooms down on the characters.

And "Erased" is powerfully made, with good claustrophobic and jittery camera-work, believable acting, and a reasonable (if roughly familiar) plot. You get swept up quickly, as Aaron Eckhart juggles a high-security job and a teenage daughter going to private school. Through a quick (a peanut allergy) he avoids an early death and the movie takes off. All along the daughter is both emotional fodder for the feeling side of the film and a bit of a formative action figure (now and then). But it's dad who is really showing his smarts and fighting skills as an ex-CIA man.

Set in beautiful Belgium, the scenes range from those gorgeous old Europe streets and government buildings to the new Europe and high end glass corporate life. And then to the new, growing minority areas where Arabs and other Muslims live. Part of this emphasis might come from the main writer on the story, Arash Amel, who surely paints the division of cultures in a sympathetic way. Director Philip Stolzl is one of the newer generation of German mainstream directors with an eye for sweeping fast visuals and a solid plot ("North Face" is highly recommended). He, perhaps too much like Tom Tykwer, is taking a detour into some well-worn territory here, but showing his chops.

Expect to never be bored, to never know quite what might happen next, and to enjoy the ride kinetically. Even if nothing quite original happens. Ever.

The expatriate and widower Ben Logan (Aaron Eckhart) has moved from New York to Anrwep with his estranged teenage daughter Amy Logan (Liana Liberato) to work for the technology corporation Halgate Group. When he breaks a sophisticated security code from a device, he notes that its patent has no record in Halgate and he calls the attention of his boss Derek Kohler (Neil Napier). Ben meets Amy and they do not go home; later Ben goes with Amy to his office and they find it completely empty. Further, all the records of his phone calls, e-mails, payslip and bank account have vanished. Out of the blue, a coworker abducts Ben and Amy in the bank but Ben kills him in self-defense. Ben finds a key from a locker in the Central Station and he finds photos of his daughter, himself and his coworkers. His further investigation shows that all the workers are dead in the morgue except Derek Kohler. Soon Ben discovers a huge conspiracy of Halgate Group relative to illegal arms sales to Africa with the involvement of rogue CIA agents. But Ben is in disgrace with the Agency and does not have any reliable contact to recur.

The unoriginal "Erased", a.k.a."The Expatriate", is an action thriller with a promising and intriguing beginning. Unfortunately the stupid and annoying daughter Amy with her silly attitudes makes any viewer lose the temper. The story has many flaws and holes, but the plot is fast-paced and distracts the viewer that is not aware. For example, the killers kill a lot of residents in Belgium; Ben blows-up the car with important guys; the police is chasing Ben and Amy; and he arrives at the airport dirty and ready to embark to the USA and probably without documents. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Perseguição Implacável" ("Relentless Manhunt")