Parents' Guide to Stratton

It's hard to imagine how this unimpressive action film would have been greenlit if it hadn't been based on a book series. Most Americans have likely never heard of the "John Stratton" novels, but they supposedly offer grittier, more realistic special-operative fiction than, say, James Bond. But the movie feels rooted in nothing but other similarly themed films. There's very little actual "character" to Stratton himself: He walks around looking serious, and we're told he's "a highly effective operative [who doesn't] have a reputation for respecting authority or the chain of command." (Yes, it's that kind of script.) We also meet Stratton's father figure, a straight-up squandered Derek Jacobi playing a fisherman who apparently only exists on his boat. Other than that, Stratton runs around unconvincingly firing weapons and not calling for backup. Cooper made his name in stage adaptations such as The History Boys and Mamma Mia and is now on AMC's Preacher, but nothing about his physicality or demeanor here says "highly trained military operative."

The setups and set pieces feel rote. People don't react the way you might expect. Imagine you were a bad guy meeting an even more dangerous bad guy in your home, and your contact reveals that the place is bugged. In Stratton, the response is ... no response. It's as if the big bad guy was criticizing the lesser bad guy's taste in wallpaper. The good guys murder helpless suspects, even blowing one up after establishing that he's a loving husband and father. Streets are conveniently empty for dull car chases, assembled so as to remove any tension. There's little rhyme or reason to the many shoot-outs. The big bad guy's evil plans are even spelled out in a letter that he sends, supposedly in secret, to someone at MI6. The stunts are unspectacular and, when mixed with bland dialogue and faceless characters, add up to a lot of nothing.