A film that lays on the action nice and thick.
by Nav Qateel
Things go wrong when a high-class call girl tries to make a bid for freedom by helping the police take down a high-ranking Yakuza boss. She spends the whole of Christmas Eve in a night of slaughter as she tries to save not only herself, but her mother and little daughter, too. As the night progresses, the bad guys get badder and the body count rises considerably.
Being a fan of Asian cinema, and particularly revenge flicks with strong female leads, along the lines of Kill Bill and the like, Joe Lynch’s Everly was a film that suited my tastes to perfection. Not only did an incredibly youthful 48-year-old Salma Hayek kill the part of Everly, the story, penned by Joe Lynch and Yale Hannon, had a fantastic mix of solid backstory and fully fleshed out characters that won’t be quickly forgotten.
- Everly
- Directed by
Joe Lynch - Cast
Salma Hayek, Jennifer Blanc, Togo Igawa - Release Date
23 January 2015 - Nav’s Grade: B+
*****
The film opens with a beaten up and gang-raped Everly rushing into the bathroom to check her wounds, with only moments to make a desperate phone call that she hopes will save her life. Things don’t go as planned and she has to shoot her way through a lot of bad guys, leaving only one alive but out of action. From here, the top Yakuza boss, who appears to be infatuated with our heroine, begins to send in bigger, badder and ever more insane people to kill or capture Everly, with each of them failing as Everly overcomes them all. It all leads to a showdown that Takashi Miike fans will love.
The hyper-violent Everly won’t be for everyone, however, unless you’re into Japanese-style revenge flicks, this isn’t really a film you should be watching in the first place. The violence is hard and fast, with blood and torture aplenty. For example, there’s one weird and unforgettable character titled “Sadist,” played by the prolific Togo Igawa (Memoirs of a Geisha), who uses an assortment of acids to slowly melt his victims to death.
If you like strong women with guns who have revenge on their minds, and if you particularly enjoy Asian movies, Joe Lynch’s smoothly directed Everly will go down a blast. A must see.
