Night of the Sicario

A mashed-up collection of cinematic clichés, this faith-based action movie has a brisk, largely affable tone, and it might have been a guilty pleasure if it didn't thoroughly fall apart. Night of the Sicario -- which, incidentally, has nothing to do with the excellent Sicario or its solid sequel, Sicario: Day of the Soldado -- might feel to some viewers like an attempt to cash in on those earlier movies and fool movie renters. But it's hard to hate Henstridge's Taylor, who just wants to help people and keep her struggling assisted living facility open, as well as the eclectic cross-section of residents therein.

Yes, it's ridiculous to see the residents helping out in the battle, Die Hard-like, but it's also hard not to root for them. But the villains eventually gum up the movie. They're pretty dumb and easily fooled, and they don't seem too eager to get on with business. (There's a lot of talking.) The film tends to drag because of them, and a "surprise" twist is all too obvious. Perhaps the most questionable touch is the little girl, Amelia, who loses both her parents and never seems too upset about it. Instead, she and Taylor bond over a secret room and a chest full of memories. Night of the Sicario has its heart in the right place, but it also needed to get its head in the game.