Love and Monsters actress Ellen Hollman is expected to appear next year in the fourth to-be-titled installment of The Matrix franchise coming in 2021. Long before than does the actress leave her latest action footprint in the recent release of Stephen Durham’s latest thriller, the mundanely, albeit fittingly titled Army Of One which brandishes a rehashed story of revenge and rescue with a bit of pulp in its aim.
The film is an otherwise watchable presentation that begins with two cops raiding a house with a kidnapping victim, with one of the cops, Dillon (Matt Passmore) ending up in a scuffle with the armed kidnappers and suffering a close call with a knife. That scene cuts to Dillon seemingly waking up from a nap with loving wife, Brenner (Hollman) at the wheel for their rural countryside escape from reality. Their couples’ getaway is a bit hit or miss when dealing with the occasional creeper amid sudden warnings of unfriendly locals, though the two are mostly unfettered by the seemingly minor uneasiness of their excursions.
This is, of course, until they wander into a cabin with no one inside, spending ample amounts of time and exploring mysterious compartments of the area where Brenner suddenly finds a hidden stockpile of weapons. Just before the two can leave, they’re both violently ambushed by some of the creepers from the road to whom the weapons along, and later tortured and eventually shot and killed and dumped in a ditch; The real question, however, evidently gets its answer when the presumed-dead Brenner awakens next to Dillon’s corpse, grieving and enraged, and climbs out to commence her search for the killers.
Results are coming pretty quick though, as Brenner is soon able to sniff out the gang and their leader, the deceptively innocent-looking Mama (Geraldine Singer). With the bodies of her men slowly piling up and spooked into desperately getting rid of Brenner at any cost, it’s not long before she discovers that Brenner is more than she appears to be, and a threat she needs to eliminate quickly.
Along the way the film introduces some several characters in the mix while alluding to some of the more darker elements and layers within the overall thickening of the plot, as the film delves into the machination of Mama’s criminal organization, and it becomes all the more clear that this is more than a revenge story. Brenner never lets this go, even as she’s challenged with doing the right thing regardless if it might compromise her, and it does, forcing her into situations that are usually impossible for anyone who isn’t as extraordinary.
Army Of One is a fine rental experience for action fans looking to see what Hollman is capable of before next year, and so this was a nice, ample way to get her on radar. The action is brisk, the kills are fast and nicely shot without the rickety and dizzying feel of shakycam and you’re genuinely entertained from beggining to end.
