Devotees of arthouse crime drama will feel Swiss director Baran bo Odar (The Silence, Who Am I) has fallen mightily afoul of Hollywood clichés, but fans of the agreeable Foxx may find this popcorn piffle sufficiently entertaining to warrant the sequel it so blatantly craves.
The problem here is that all the situations are familiar from other, generally better gangster thrillers.
Foxx’s starpower doesn’t save this action thriller, remade from 2011’s Nuit Blanche and featuring plenty of stolen cocaine and reflex batterings.
Less sleepless, more insomnia cure. For all its attempts at action, it’s a rote, dull crime thriller with little fresh to offer.
With a convoluted plot and grotesque characters, none of it is very believable and a lot of good actors find it hard to breathe life into the most clichéd of situations.
A committed performance from Jamie Foxx and taut direction lift this remake of a French thriller above the pack.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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