Review: 'The Rhythm Section' is out-of-step

Paramount Pictures, 2020.

Blake Lively does her best, but her best is not nearly enough to save "The Rhythm Section," a movie that throws its hat into the ring early on as one of the biggest duds of 2020.

Grade: D

"The Rhythm Section," by definition, is a movie. It was shot on film, projected onto a screen, and has a discernible plot. There is sound, dialogue, actors and action, and yet unlike most movies, none of these elements seem to mix together in any cohesive way.

Blake Lively stars as a woman who is completely wrecked both emotionally and physically, following a plane crash that killed her entire family. The crash was no accident however, so she goes out on a mission of vengeance to take down the man or organization responsible. Enlisting the help of various characters (headlined by actors Jude Law and Sterling K. Brown), she trains to become an assassin and then sets off on her mission.

It's not entirely clear what this movie was aiming for, and you'll be left asking yourself, what was the point of all of this? For a movie called "The Rhythm Section," it has surprisingly little flow, opening with an extended sequence showing how down-and-out this woman is, and then going in ludicrous directions from there. The action isn't well-thought-out and many of the characters don't seem to have much purpose. Even the music - populated with a soundtrack of old songs that attempt to make this into a hip film - seems to be choppy and out-of-place.

It's clear why Blake Lively might have been attracted to the role, as on paper it would have been a vehicle for her to show off some different, more raw and emotional sides of herself, that we may not have seen from her before. But she just seems miscast ultimately, and unable to make any of what she goes through believable.

"The Rhythm Section" won't be remembered beyond this weekend, and that's a good thing for all involved.

Grade: D

Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery
Run Time: 1 hour 49 minutes
Rated R

Starring: Blake Lively, Jude Law, Sterling K. Brown, Max Casella.

Directed by Reed Morano ("I Think We're Alone Now," "Meadowland").

"The Rhythm Section" is in theaters on Friday, January 31st, 2020.