Erased Reviews
Cinema-Maniac
Super Reviewer
October 8, 2012
The Expatriate is about an ex-CIA agent and his estranged daughter who are forced on the run when his employers mark them both for termination as part of a wide-reaching international conspiracy. The plot mainly suffers from heading into familiar territory that other spy thrillers already explore without any good original ideas. The few good moments that this film has are burrowed from superior films like The Bourne series. The daughter character can get annoying time and it's not actress Liana Liberato fault she gets on your nerves, she just got a very poorly written character. The plot is somewhat interesting when we get to learn about our characters past and despite it plot not being thrilling for a second it wasn't a pain to watch. At least the father and daughter relationship was interesting to see which helps drive the film forward since the spy plot here is in the "been there, done that" category. The plot is unoriginal, but it did have some interesting aspects about it that didn't completely boring.
The acting in this film is stiff from our too leads. Eckhart shows little effort in his part to convince us that he's this ex-CIA agent and not once did I believe him in his role. He stutters most his lines making it more difficult to understand what he is saying. Unlike other actors who played secret agents like Liam Neeson and Matt Damon, Araon Eckhart (he only kills two with his bare hands) is not allowed to kill many people chasing him down due to low budget. Liana Liberato is a bit better in the acting department, but her character will get annoying times. Though for some odd reasons she looks exactly like one of exes from my high school years. Despite our two lead stiff performance their chemistry is very believable. The supporting cast don't fare out any better, but some of them at least tried to put some effort in their performances. The cinematography is good here and you could tell the director tried to do his best with what was given to him. He does make the best of the action scenes despite their obviously low budget to make decent looking and despite the plot lacking thrills the director does show he cared in telling a story.
The Expatriate is too familiar to separate itself from other spy thrillers and despite a good effort in it direction it's not thrilling in any way. If you haven't seen many spy thrillers this might give your money worth, but for the rest of us it's just better to watch the spy films this burrows from.
The last time I saw Aaron Eckhart in a movie was The Dark Knight with a memorable performance as Two-Face and since then I have not heard nor seen give him in anything. Though if this movie is any indication on Eckhart career is that he hasn't done anything worth checking out since then.
The Expatriate is about an ex-CIA agent and his estranged daughter who are forced on the run when his employers mark them both for termination as part of a wide-reaching international conspiracy. The plot mainly suffers from heading into familiar territory that other spy thrillers already explore without any good original ideas. The few good moments that this film has are burrowed from superior films like The Bourne series. The daughter character can get annoying time and it's not actress Liana Liberato fault she gets on your nerves, she just got a very poorly written character. The plot is somewhat interesting when we get to learn about our characters past and despite it plot not being thrilling for a second it wasn't a pain to watch. At least the father and daughter relationship was interesting to see which helps drive the film forward since the spy plot here is in the "been there, done that" category. The plot is unoriginal, but it did have some interesting aspects about it that didn't completely boring.
The acting in this film is stiff from our too leads. Eckhart shows little effort in his part to convince us that he's this ex-CIA agent and not once did I believe him in his role. He stutters most his lines making it more difficult to understand what he is saying. Unlike other actors who played secret agents like Liam Neeson and Matt Damon, Araon Eckhart (he only kills two with his bare hands) is not allowed to kill many people chasing him down due to low budget. Liana Liberato is a bit better in the acting department, but her character will get annoying times. Though for some odd reasons she looks exactly like one of exes from my high school years. Despite our two lead stiff performance their chemistry is very believable. The supporting cast don't fare out any better, but some of them at least tried to put some effort in their performances. The cinematography is good here and you could tell the director tried to do his best with what was given to him. He does make the best of the action scenes despite their obviously low budget to make decent looking and despite the plot lacking thrills the director does show he cared in telling a story.
The Expatriate is too familiar to separate itself from other spy thrillers and despite a good effort in it direction it's not thrilling in any way. If you haven't seen many spy thrillers this might give your money worth, but for the rest of us it's just better to watch the spy films this burrows from.
May 9, 2013
I was in the running for one of the main supporting roles, but didn't get it - so don't see it :-)
Samantha C.
May 5, 2013
Best if you don't pay attention to the dialogue and just go along for the ride and enjoy the scenery.
April 23, 2013
with decent actions, performances, story and a dull ending...The Expatriate is another average action film with nothing new or original to this genre [C]
April 14, 2013
This is not Shakespeare so don't judge it by that standard. Despite the formula plot, it is well acted and the action is tightly executed. The question for any film lik this is whether watching it on cable as comic book action-- a different experience than viewing it in a theatre -- it's entertaining. By that measure, it delivers for those who like a good chase movie. The main flaw is that the character who plays the daughter is too savvy and wordly for her age and background. TAKEN I is a little better. It's more or less on a par with TAKEN II. These films all follow the model of the Bourne movies as well as the latest one based on a Ludlum, which thanks to its executive producer, Henry Morrison, are very tightly plotted and executed. I'm giving this 3 stars but it's really 3.5 stars, by the measure I suggest applies.
March 26, 2013
Is it a good film? I would say yes, it's a good film in terms of making the most out of a noticeable low budget production. Eckart is no Neeson but Liberato's poker faced acting might have surprisingly added some spice in this less than thriller thriller. The story is good, but we knew we'd seen better finishing with Matt Daemon's Bourne series. But in no less cheap, you would want to see this film just to get nostalgic with the Legacies and Takens.
I say give it a shot on a boring Saturday evening.
probably one of those films that will make you think it's taken from Taken. with the all too familiar father-daughter spy thriller, you would think Eckart will steal some thunder from Neeson's better-late-than-never breakout lead role.
Is it a good film? I would say yes, it's a good film in terms of making the most out of a noticeable low budget production. Eckart is no Neeson but Liberato's poker faced acting might have surprisingly added some spice in this less than thriller thriller. The story is good, but we knew we'd seen better finishing with Matt Daemon's Bourne series. But in no less cheap, you would want to see this film just to get nostalgic with the Legacies and Takens.
I say give it a shot on a boring Saturday evening.
March 2, 2013
This could have been really good, but it just isn't suspenseful enough. Aaron Eckhart offers a fine performance though.
February 16, 2013
yeah its the top 10 most pirated movie online and now i watched it 1 month before its Hollywood release, and guys i tell you its definitely worth a watch for its screenplay and writing
January 29, 2013
The background story might be a little trite, but the way it focuses on the relationship between father and daughter is refreshing (better than Taken 2 imho..much better). The action sequences are also gritty and believable.
It's too bad not many people will watch this. What the hell happened to the marketing?
It's not fantastic, but it's a surprisingly good movie with great production values.
The background story might be a little trite, but the way it focuses on the relationship between father and daughter is refreshing (better than Taken 2 imho..much better). The action sequences are also gritty and believable.
It's too bad not many people will watch this. What the hell happened to the marketing?
January 7, 2013
Okay thriller, men saa heller ikke mere. Olga Kurylenko er med i diminutiv rolle uden at smide det mindste kluns. De skulle skamme sig, skulle de.
January 5, 2013
an spy who is with is daughter and his agency wants to kill him. unfortunately this movie is not made by studio so you don't find publicity. Not a bad film.
Loic E.
December 16, 2012
All in all, very poor movie. Predictable, unoriginal, but some good action. The action was satisfying, but the plot lacks creativity!
December 5, 2012
Average. Spotty performance by Eckhart doesn't help elevate it beyond average.
October 28, 2012
You know you're not meant to be a leading man when your on screen daughter can out-act you. Poor Aaron Eckhart, struggling for a role as good as he had in the Dark Knight. Clearly this movie isn't it.
October 13, 2012
A pretty decent 'B' movie action flick set in Belgium starrin Aaron Eckhart
