Avenger Isn't Worth Your Time

Welcome to the land of television drama. Not all television is bad. However, usually the movies will leave something to be desired. There is that old cliché, especially in American cinema, that there is a difference between television actors and movie actors. Although, once in a while a television movie will be made that has the support of some big movie star names. This is one of those movies.

Directed by well-known television director, Robert Markowitz, Avenger does have a big name or two under its television movie belt. Timothy Hutton (The Falconand the Snowman) receives top billing as the lead character, Frank McBride. James Cromwell (Revenge of the Nerds) and Sam Elliott (Road House) are also major players in this project.

Avenger was originally a novel that was written by Frederick Forsyth. Forsyth has had a number of hit books such as "The Day of the Jackal" and "The Odessa File" made into movies. Even the executive producer has a well-known name. Wolfgang Peterson worked on projects such as Troy, The Perfect Storm, and Poseidon.

You would think that with a well-known author, a good cast, and a knowledgeable director a movie would be decent…right? This normally would be true, but as I came to find out, not even the most talented actors can break away from a poor script. The main problem with Avenger lies in the novel it was based off of, "The Day of the Jackal". While, Forsyth novels generally sell well they tend to leave too much to the imagination. The characters come out one dimensional and the storyline seems implausible, at best. This is what you are dealing with when you are watching Avenger.

The Plot…Or Lack Thereof

Avenger contains a storyline that we have seen many times before. This does not equal a bad movie. However, it does open things up to comparison. I always say, if you are going to recycle your plot you'd better make sure that your version ends up much better than whatever you are being compared to. Avenger did not necessarily follow my advice.

Avenger is an action movie about a war hero turned vigilante. Sam Elliott plays Cal Dexter. Cal was a Special Forces hero in the war. Now he's a hired hit man. After the deaths of Cal's wife and daughter his mission goes further than a hired gun and moves into overdrive as the man who wants to seek revenge for his family. For this movie, the murderers come in the forms of war criminals and your average street thug. It does not take long for this to upset the wrong people, namely the CIA, and soon Cal is being hunted while he fights to complete his own self-created mission.

On one end you have Cal Dexter (Sam Elliott), the man on a mission. On the other end you have the CIA man, Frank McBride (Timothy Hutton), who is supposed to erase Dexter so things can go back to normal. Avenger traverses through multiple locations and settings that range from Washington D.C. to South Africa. However, this does little to boost the plot other than to offer some scenic changes.

The People that made it Happen

As I mentioned previously, I had no true problems with the acting. Elliott and Hutton offer decent performances as they have in the past. However, an actor can only work with so much. In a perfect world you would have had some unknowns in this because it's always sad seeing people you like in things you don't like, but that didn't happen unfortunately. While the acting is fine, the story is stale and that is what ruined the entire movie for me.

It is hard to believe that someone with connections to Troy, The Perfect Storm, and Poseidon could be involved in Avenger. My only guess is a lapse of bad judgment on many the part of Mr. Peterson. The actors and producers may have thoughts that it would all fall together in the end. Unfortunately, it ended up falling short instead.

The scenes felt unfinished. This made it hard to want to follow the movie. There are no tied up issues. We just keep moving on without the feeling that we have accomplished anything. I think that the people that liked this book will have a much better chance at liking the movie. However, if you are not a fan of Forsyth, or have not read the book then you might just want to skip this one.

The Bottom Line -You will find people that liked Avenger. For some it may be a guilty pleasure or a sign that they have watched so many movies with unappealing plotlines that they start seeming decent enough to watch. However, there are others, like me, who will hope for meatier plots with more interesting characters. It was not the acting that bothered me. The script was the problem and, for me, it ruined the entire movie.