Back in the early 90s, the emergence of Quentin Tarantino sparked a mini-boom in crime thrillers, some good (Natural Born Killers), some less so (The Boondock Saints). Based on the novel Gun Monkeys, this new Pierce Brosnan vehicle is a throwback to that era in almost every way possible – and that’s largely at the root of what’s both good and bad about it.
We open with a flash-forward to a motor-vehicle graveyard in Florida where Brosnan, AKA hitman Charlie Swift, is hanging about looking shifty. An unseen antagonist orders him to put his hands in the air and take his shirt off. He complies, and then voiceover from Brosnan essentially follows the format of the record scratch meme (that intones “Yep, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I got into this situation …”). You’ll spend the next 90 minutes finding out, and for the most part that’s a brisk and painless journey that romps merrily along, powered by its own cliches and memories of better movies, in a way that’s more comfortingly familiar than wearisome.
One thing that’s less familiar is Charlie Swift’s accent. Is he a seasoned American gangster from the Sunshine state? Is he a handsome septuagenarian Irish actor, ageing like a fine wine, whose characteristic brogue simply cannot be repressed? Rather enjoyably, he’s both, depending on the moment. He’s also set on romancing Morena Baccarin’s character, a streetwise taxidermist about 25 years his junior. It’s hard to escape the suspicion that Brosnan’s role was developed with perhaps more of a 50-ish wise guy type in mind – and then Brosnan became available and they just went with it, because of course you would.
Fast Charlie also provided a final role for James Caan, although it doesn’t feel like they had all that many days with the Godfather star; it’s more of a talismanic, vibes-based appearance, in an inessential but entertaining enough movie that doesn’t outstay its welcome and features a man getting decapitated by an exploding doughnut. What more do you want?
• Fast Charlie is on Prime Video in Australia and the US now, and in the UK from 15 March.
