Ava is an action/thriller about an assassin, the titular Ava(Jessica Chastain) who begins fray mentally, asking her subjects why they have a contract for their life before killing them. After a botched job she returns to her hometown of Boston to confront her past but ends up on the run for her life.
Chastain is a tremendous talent and has that magnetic star quality that makes her imminently watchable but here she can only do so much with the overwrought dialogue and convoluted plot. The supporting cast is stacked- Geena Davis, John Malkovich, Colin Farrell- but none of them are given much in the way of character or screentime. Ultimately it's kind of a baffling waste of Oscar recognized talent.
The action sequences are clear and exciting and Chastain makes for a fun and unique action lead but there's simply not enough of them and too much convoluted soap opera-esk family drama- Ava has a drinking problem(underdevolped and in lieu of actual dimension), there is some mystifying backstory with her dead father cheating on her mother, her ex-fiance who is now dating her sister has a gambling problem etc. etc. It all kind of compounds to the point where none of it is effective, it doesn't seem to matter. The plot is simply too confused for a genre that should be clean and concise and above all thrilling.
A great cast, an interesting premise, with a lack of follow through.
Currently available for rent on most VOD platforms.
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