Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

Actors: Gerard Butler, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Evin Ahmad, Salvatore Esposito, Meadow Williams, Swen Temmel

Rating: 8 out of 10, A predictably good action flick. Predictable because of the Gerard Butler O’Shea Jackson pairing. Butler plays a disgraced cop who joins up with an international criminal ring, led by Jackson, the only one who got away in the first film, to rob a diamond market. There are some huge plot holes, like why the organized criminals so readily accept a former cop into their team, but with action movies you forgive a lot. The two leads make a very good buddy pairing, from opposite ends of the law enforcement spectrum. This is a lot less gritty than the original, but the robbery was great cinema keeping the audience on the proverbial edge of the seat. A great addition to the action genre.

MVP: Butler owns action hero roles

Thunderbolts

Actors: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer, Wendell Pierce, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Rating: 8 out of 10, This latest Marvel flick harkens back to their earlier films which were so entertaining. The blame for this return to quality lays squarely on Florence Pugh and David Harbour. They are standouts in a cast of misfits called upon to, you know, save the world. They’re not as well endowed with supe abilities as their preceding Avengers but they are a lot of fun, especially Pugh and Harbour who play a difunctional parent/daughter. The action is non-stop as is the lively dialogue. The only downside was the villain, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who’s only superpower was being obnoxious versus dangerous. Still, a welcome return to form for Marvel, a really enjoyable watch.

MVP: Pugh is heart of the movie as anguished anti-hero

Accountant 2

Actors: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson and J. K. Simmons, Daniella Pineda

Rating: 8 out of 10, I loved the first Accountant movie with Affleck playing a lethal auditor operating at a high level of the autism scale. The lack of aspect the character requires leads perfectly into Affleck’s acting style an he delivers once again in this sequel. One of the best arts of the original was the relationship he had with his estranged brother, played by the latest Punisher, Jon Berthal, an assassin in his own right. Th filmmakers must have liked that also because the sequel is centered around that relationship. The very few moments bodies weren’t flying about were amply filled with the two reconnecting as brothers. The accountant is called in to identify a missing immigrant family which has also caught the attention of a dangerous female assassin. There are some neat twists at the end involving the climactic battle with the villains. They obviously set themselves up for another sequel which is welcome news. A great action flick with fully developed characters.

MVP: Affleck is perfect as the autistic assassin

Fight or Flight

Actors: Josh Hartnett, Charithra Chandran, Julian Kostov, Katee Sackhoff, Marko Zaror, Rebecka Johnston

Rating: 9 out of 10, This movie truly surprised me. It’s a goofy action comedy with Josh Hartnett starring as a disgraced secret service agent who’s coaxed back into the business to capture a wanted cyber terrorist on a flight from Bangkok to San Francisco. There are too many plot twists to describe other than to say Hartnett is awesome as he kills his way through the plane loaded with assassins. He’s ably assisted by Charithra Chandran as a spunky flight attendant; she manages to steal the majority of scenes that she’s in. I would hazard a guess that we’ll be hearing a lot more about this actress in the near future. She was great. As was the entire movie which had me laughing as well as cringing as the carnage unfolded. I texted my son as soon as I got home, telling him this was our kind of movie.

MVP: Hartnett as Reyes as an “excuse me” John Wick clone