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Courier, The

6/10

Stars: Olga Kurylenko, Gary Oldman, Amit Shah, Dermot Mulroney, William Moseley, Calli Taylor, Alicia Agneson

Director: Zackary Adler

A kind of Die Hard in a Parking Lot in which the action is everything. Since director Adler clearly knows his onions when it comes to guns, gangsters and non-stop suspense, his film is by and large a success, although scenes outside the underground car park are much less effective.

One-time Bond girl Kurylenko is the black-leather-clad motorbike courier assigned to deliver a package to a security-tight room: the meeting-place of state's witness Shah, due to testify against much-wanted gangster Oldman after witnessing him executing a man in cold blood, and a heavily-armed bodyguard.

But there's a viper in the nest and what Kurylenko is unwittingly delivering ia a cyanide 'bomb' designed to kill all but treacherous agent Simmonds (Agneson), who dons a protective mask and shoots the (never-named) Courier, who is the intended patsy.

What no one realises is that the Courier is a special ops veteran, who deserted after seeing her brother killed, snd now compulsively wears her bullet-proof vest. She kills Simmonds before the latter can execute the witness, and the game is afoot.

Head nasty Moseley (over-acting) and his army of gunmen and sharpshooters spend the rest of the film trying to finish the Courier and her terrified companion off.

Fortunately, the film is almost all action, as director Adler is less sure with his actors, and scenes with Oldman and his slinky daughter (Taylor) as they await news of the witness's elimination (for which they have paid dearly) often verge on the ludicrous.

But tension within the parking lot (in London) remains on high throughout, and Kurylenko does all that one could ask of her as the all-action Courier. The twist ending, though, is more than a bit silly. Still, if you can't get into Cats or Star Wars this week, this could at least save you a wasted journey. The 18 certificate seems very harsh.

David Quinlan

UK/USA 2019. UK Distributor: Signature. Colour (unspecified).
98 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 18.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 2, Drugs 0, Swearing 2.

Review date: 18 Dec 2019