Original star and producer Henry Cavill walked away from this film a week before it was due to start shooting. ‘Creative differences’ were cited, and Dominic Cooper was drafted in to play John Stratton, a member of the Special Boat Service, a British naval special forces unit.
Based on the novels by Duncan Falconer, the set-up sees him working with MI5 to prevent a terrorist attack on London, but you’d be better off watching an episode of the BBC drama ‘Spooks’ if that’s your bag. From chases on boats to bust-ups on buses, the action and locations are fitfully engaging, but the story feels cobbled together and the dialogue is often painful. Miscasting doesn’t help: Connie Nielsen – who was terrific as Diana’s mother in ‘Wonder Woman’ – is fist-chewingly awful as MI5 head Sumner, her accent as mystifying as her inconsistent character. The best exchanges take place between Stratton and his gentle, houseboat-dwelling buddy Ross (Derek Jacobi, thank heavens), but they feel like the remnants of a better script that was torn up long before Cavill made his wise exit.