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A forced premise can even be forgiven for the sake of movie magic, but good lord, “Force of Nature” is egregiously bad even by Hollywood standards. I believe an algorithm can come up with a more believable premise than the script reveals.
As cringeworthy as it sounds, the film attempts to build itself on the premise that the storm is a category 5 hurricane. It tries so desperately to provide context on why the cops need to be in a building and why communication towers have been disabled. The set of characters stuck in this bola include a retired cop who goes by an old man for the sake of anonymity, Raymond (Mel Gibson). Surrounded by gossipy medical professionals and peers, he also has a beautiful yet worried doctor daughter. To preserve the storyline, we will refrain from mentioning why he got banned from a grocery store for attempting to purchase 100 pounds of meat. We will keep his explanation infuriatingly vague and delightful, say it’s to feed his pet, Janet.
Raymond isn’t the only one unhinged. The building is dimly lit with a stench of unease and lunacy. And there are crooked hanksters dodging the law inside looking for something vague because the plot says so.
But from the outset, we understand that they are savage because the enthusiastic triggerman, the top criminal who goes by the name John the Baptist (David Zayas), has no qualms in shooting a sweet old lady and one of his own people just because they annoy him.
Emile Hirsch portrays Cardillo, a cop with a bitter persona and cynical attitude who has almost lost interest in life together due to his tragic past. He doesn’t even bother trying to grasp the requirements of his job, like learning Spanish. It is painfully clear that he is eagerly anticipating retirement. Cardillo’s persona can be summarized, as I’m too old for this. The only reason he has a partner now is to provide some contrast to his otherwise mundane life. His new partner is Jess Cayo, a warm-hearted native Puerto Rican dedicated to the job.
As if playing chess, director Michael Polish positions the characters on the building. One side has a group with a life-threatening injury, while the other side has a group of John’s indistinguishable assault-weapon-wielding goons. These goons want the treasure but have no clear idea where it is placed. While the action in the movie is portrayed adequately, the characters are way too generic. Due to a lack of character development, all buildup disappointingly leads to an obvious revelation as the reveal lacks nuance.
Drafted from bullet points, the plot thickens. And as heist movies go, using a devastating hurricane as a peg is undoubtedly in questionable taste. But let’s not stop there. With characters like Prof. Mctiernan, who chooses to gloat about how he thwarted a group of terrorists from conducting a heist during hurricane category 5, to now, makes us realize how the impacts of the actual category 5 hurricane Maria in 2017 were extremely devastating.
‘Force of Nature’ is rife with unnecessary heft when it comes to the lessons learned. There’s personal redemption, a fair bit of racial profiling, and the Holocaust just to toss in more unearned weight to the rudimentary subplots. And like a stroke of a classic action movie, comes the ending scene, which feels like almost a cynical parody. From the dry disposition of some of the treasure to an implausible romantic backstory, now that seems rather ludicrous.
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