Okay, having just watched The Red Siren, I have to ask why. Why has this excellent euro-thriller been ignored so much that the only way I heard about it was by drifting about looking for Asia Argento movies on Play.com, post Land of the Dead. In the end I wound up watching this and xXx in my quest, and while I've got a lot of love for Messers Diesel and Cohn and their crazy 2 hour explosion-fest, The Red Siren shoots xXx out of the water like a crazed redneck with a sawn off.
The plot is best described as a familiar tale unconventionally told, involving a freedom fighter and a detective (played thoughtfully and powerfully by Argento) who find themselves unavoidably entwined in an attempt to save Alice, a young girl on the run from her maniacal gangster mother. This is not unheard of as a plot line in thrillers, but it's told in a wonderfully organic and odd fashion, making the movie feel fresh and new.
The acting is great, even if at times the dialogue becomes strained as a result of the cultural diversity of the cast (there's almost every major European nationality in here at some point, leading to some lines being a little garbled or sounding out of place). In fact, the acting is on par with anything Hollywood has to offer. Speaking of Hollywood, lovers of big budget action will not be disappointed with Red Siren, as it redefines the words 'slick manic action'. While not an orgy of destruction like the aforementioned xXx, Red Siren has both great car chases and some of the best set piece battles I've seen for a good long while. The hotel shoot-out is so fantastic you'll need to remind yourself to breathe.
All in all, Red Siren is essential viewing for any action nut. It has fantastic acting, a great story and frenetic action sequences. Couple this with an arresting visual style and consummate direction and we're onto a winner.
The plot is best described as a familiar tale unconventionally told, involving a freedom fighter and a detective (played thoughtfully and powerfully by Argento) who find themselves unavoidably entwined in an attempt to save Alice, a young girl on the run from her maniacal gangster mother. This is not unheard of as a plot line in thrillers, but it's told in a wonderfully organic and odd fashion, making the movie feel fresh and new.
The acting is great, even if at times the dialogue becomes strained as a result of the cultural diversity of the cast (there's almost every major European nationality in here at some point, leading to some lines being a little garbled or sounding out of place). In fact, the acting is on par with anything Hollywood has to offer. Speaking of Hollywood, lovers of big budget action will not be disappointed with Red Siren, as it redefines the words 'slick manic action'. While not an orgy of destruction like the aforementioned xXx, Red Siren has both great car chases and some of the best set piece battles I've seen for a good long while. The hotel shoot-out is so fantastic you'll need to remind yourself to breathe.
All in all, Red Siren is essential viewing for any action nut. It has fantastic acting, a great story and frenetic action sequences. Couple this with an arresting visual style and consummate direction and we're onto a winner.