MovieChat Forums > Extortion (2017) Discussion > An amazing film - for the first hour

An amazing film - for the first hour

posted 7 years ago by maximmm (3335)
5 replies | jump to latest

The first hour was remarkable - it had the likable family, good acting, a plausible scenario - everything - it had me sitting at the edge of the seat the whole time. The last 30 minutes took a big hit - the acting went downhill and the story became less and less plausible.

At the end of the day, this movie reminds me of 'No Escape' with Pierce Brosnan - as a film with a 'vacation gone horribly wrong' type of scenario. The last 30 minutes really did cause the movie to lose some very big points, but even then, I still saw it till the end, wanting to know what happens to his wife and son.

All in all... I'm still going to recommend seeing this film. Even with a big hit in the final act, there is still a lesson to be learned here - and the first two thirds of the film will grip you like few other films do.

[–] Volley (3433) 7 years ago

Yeah agreed, the first hour was fantastic, but then things happen which seem unlikely.

How the heck does his wife and son survive on the island without any food or water for so many days, and keeping in mind that they were already hungry when they first got to the island. Miguel and Hoorhay didn't feed them, and if they left them any water--how much water?

Also, a better conclusion should have been shown, where we can see how the husband wraps things up with the police, embassy, and if Hoorhay survived his injuries, not to mention reversing the transfer of nearly $200,000 Miguel's bank account. I wanted to see the look on the island's police chief when he realizes that the husband really was telling the truth.

And a bit of a side note, was there any particular reason that the son was hispanic? It seemed a little out of place.

[–] jsm607 (14) 7 months ago

Judging by Jorge trying to stop Miguel from sinking the boat with kevin in it, i think he must have the impression that they are only going for the extortion, not murder. So they, at least Jorge, would have left enough food and drink for them to wait until the bank transaction is finished and come back.

[–] Xcalat3 (3748) 7 years ago

so true its like they pasted 2 movies together and not for the better. a shame really because it started so good.

i give it a 5/10

[–] Cryllic94 (8) 7 years ago

I tend to agree there, the first hour was pretty good and I would have liked to have seen the ending wrapped up a bit better. As far as survival goes we don't know how much water the bad guys left his wife and child - obviously enough to survive to what looked like 2 extra days - it couldn't have been much more time wise.

As far as going without food well anyone healthy enough can go without food for up to a month - ask my mum she fasted for 34 days not one scrap of food but of course she wasn't stranded on a deserted island with very little water. Heck I have even fasted for 1 week no problems. So lack of food is a non issue even for a few weeks.

[–] db20db (17235) 5 years ago

I also tend to agree. I've noticed this pattern with Hollywood for some time, especially with an action/thriller type of movie. The implausibility factor seems to kick in proportionally to it accelerating toward a climax.

Nevertheless, I thought the premise was interesting and unique enough, I've seen more amazing examples of survival in real life and I've seen worse movies rated higher. A 7/10 for me, a good thrill ride for the most part.