Bullet Points: Shattered (2022)
The erotic action thriller is something of a lost art these days. We simply do not see too many of them. I have no clue why.
Who doesn’t love action with hot nakedness sprinkled throughout?
When I watched the Red Band trailer for Shattered, my hopes for an Action Renaissance of erotic hotness seemed possible. Trailers do lie. So I decided to approach Shattered with caution.
Look for Shattered, presented by Lionsgate in Select Theaters and On Demand on January 14th. Also, Shattered will be Available on Blu-ray and DVD on February 22nd.
- The Right Guy for the Story: Looking through the cast and credits for Shattered, I noticed David Loughery wrote the screenplay. The name might not ring an instant bell, but if you’re making a movie about fucked up relationships and bat shit crazy bitches, David is your guy. He’s credited for Fatale, The Intruder, Nurse, Blindsided and Obsessed. All very similar in plot. For the action fanatics, David also wrote Money Train and Passenger 57. ALWAYS BET ON BLACK! …Will a seasoned screenwriter bring the sizzle to Shattered? Let’s dive deeper into the cast. You must have chemistry to make a movie like this work.
- Hey, I Know That Guy: I’ve watched a few seasons of Shameless, but I didn’t even recognize Cameron Monaghan. He was Ian Gallagher in Shameless and a character inspired by Joker on Gotham. Now, he is the lead in an erotic thriller. Cameron plays Chris Decker. He is almost divorced. He has a shit ton of money due to him selling his tech company. However, he lives a lonely life. Chris shops at midnight. Chris is reserved., one that wouldn’t normally take risks. But! Stop the presses! Sometimes the little head seriously fucks with the big head, and Chris’ world gets turned upside down when a stranger asks him for a recommendation for a bottle of wine during one of his infamous late night shopping trips. This is going to end happily ever after, right?
- Femme Fatale: Her name is Sky. That’s clue number one. Chris should’ve known better, but then there’s no movie. Sky is played by Lilly Krung. Lilly isn’t a household name yet, but could she be the new go to Gone Girl? Sky looks like an Instagram model with obvious warning signs that something just ain’t quite right. Sky is on a level of hotness that puts her out of Chris’ league, but not so hot, that it wouldn’t seem impossible for Sky to like Chris. Highly unlikely, but it could happen. Like most movies with similar plots, how much you enjoy Sky will impact how much you enjoy your viewing experience. In my opinion, Sky would’ve made for a more entertaining character if she went the serious route more instead of the random humor her character has. I didn’t watch Shattered to laugh. The humor makes her character a lot more desperate, and even harder to like.
- The Familiar Action Faces: Who did John Malkovich piss off? At one time he was the man. Now, he takes any role he can get his hands on. John plays a creepy pervert / landlord in Shattered. The funny part: This creep is almost the hero of the film. Only Malkovich could pull something off like this. He still tries no matter what. Malkovich is easily the “best” actor in Shattered… We love Frank Grillo at Bulletproof Action, but you need to be careful with his filmography as well. For every Copshop, there’s a Cosmic Sin. Grillo shows up for a bit in Shattered. Frank is a versatile actor. He switches from good guy to bad guy with ease, but with Shattered, I expected more from him. Don’t watch Shattered if Grillo is the only reason you’re watching.
- The Elephant in the Room: The sex. Is it hot? Is there enough nakedness to justify the erotic action thriller moniker? The easy answer is no. The sex is filmed at an odd angle, and the film misses a couple of golden opportunities to have extremely steamy scenes, but went the safe route instead. Shattered is no Basic Instinct. There is some random naked yoga, but I honestly believe it was filmed just to say the film has nudity. I would go back and study the sex scenes, but I believe first impressions are key with erotic thrillers, and Shattered didn’t quite make the grade.
- Final Thoughts: There’s a couple decent action sequences in Shattered. You do wonder how Chris will survive? But it isn’t enough for me. You have seen everything before if you decide to view Shattered. The film is well made, but well made sometimes isn’t enough.
- Grade: C-
