Film Review – Fast Charlie (2023)

 

A crime caper with underlying energy and frivolous mischief by dedicated Pierce Brosnan as Charlie Swift, a hitman with a big heart fallen on hard times but unexpectedly is ordered an assignment with more than meets the eye.

Charlie may be a brogue, he can think quickly on the run which comes in handy when being part of constant double crosses. The film opens part-way through a scene within a used car’s junkyard as Charlie is told to strip by unseen bandits aiming guns directly towards him before circling back to present with narration explaining everything the viewer needs to know. After taking what is supposed to be a small job for his criminal element employers, including a young, unpredictable drive-along partner Blade (Brennan Keel Cook) they arrive at a house that self combusts sending the target inside into smithereens due to a delivery of donuts that had a bomb in the box.

This is the first of multiple, less than exciting moments through a wayward plot that focuses on a body without a head and the ex-wife of the deceased, Marcie (Morena Baccarin) a taxidermist assisting Swift reluctantly at first, who soon turns into a trusting partnership of survival and potential romance.  Things get deeper as upstart gangsters target a notorious mentor Stan Mullen (ively played by late, great, James Caan) hence a mission for vengeance ensues. In one of his final roles, the legendary Hollywood actor from The Godfather (1972) – Misery (1990) – Alien Nation (1988), and Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) was just the tip of the iceberg of a superior career.

With a beaming smile that could wake up a narcoleptic, glamorous Brazilian Morena Baccarin, I’ve always liked. Creatively her pizazz floats across every role, even one as this mundane sidekick, love interest turns out to be. Further development into characterisation would have boosted the second phase of Fast Charlie when convoluted plot strands kicked in. Caan and Brosnan share enigmatic moments of high praise and love towards each other, I think what you’re seeing on screen looks to be mutual respect off-screen due to obvious chemistry with engaging dialogue and heartfelt looks. Another veteran actor popping up in an extended cameo is Sharon Gless, of retro cop series Cagney & Lacey, a rough local who is certainly proud of her extensive breast enhancements.

On the surface, this is an entertaining, rapid-fire thriller with spurts of violence lovingly shot around many of the unique, beautiful, cinematic New Orleans locales enhancing what could have been a wildly routine, aging hitman romp. Four-time 007, Pierce Brosnan is still an acting presence, relishing his former action-man status with refinedness. The romantic endeavour of Charlie and Marcey has a moderate spark, flickering in and out.

With a reputation that proceeds him (Dead Calm, Salt, Rabbit-Proof Fence to name a few) Australian director Phillip Noyce, seemingly has big ideas for the protagonist taking him from the book by Victor Gischler, which the film is based on, into further adventures of Fast Charlie, as a potential TV series if the finale is anything to go by.

★★ 1/2

On Prime Video now | Pierce Bronson, Morena Baccarin, Toby Huss, Sharon Gless, James Caan, Brennan Keel Cook / Dir: Phillip Noyce / Signature Entertainment / 15

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