Recent years have seen several spy, action movies made with an all female cast. Some have bombed, some have been okay, none have yet to set the bar, at least none that I can remember. The 355 movie attempts to make the leap and lands somewhere in the middle.
The movie The 355 starts off at speed with action sequence on steroids. The catalyst, a small piece of tech no bigger than a sim card. Small in size, the weapon is capable of hacking into any system on the globe, thereby bringing down planes and governments. A handy piece of kit indeed.
It’s not long before an array of good, bad and indeterminate agents make their move to secure the prize.
CIA agent Mason Browne (Jessica Chastain) heads up the initial push to retrieve the device for the good guys. Posing as a honeymooning couple with her work partner Nick Fowler (Sebastian Stan), they head off to Paris, a cliché even the characters comment on.
However within moments of unpacking their bags the pair come up against a fierce rival agent, Marie Schmidt (Diane Kruger). The outcome puts the two women on a vengeful collision course.
Going freelance, Browne is soon joined by IT expert Khadijah Adiyeme (Lupita Nyong’o). Also along for the ride is Graciela Rivera (Penelope Cruz), while Lin Mi Sheng (Bingbing Fan) is secretly tracking the women from afar.
The 355 movie does a sound job at keeping your attention despite the very thin storyline. Adiyeme makes a convincing IT expert and Cruz does a good job as comic relief.
But Chastain’s portrayal misses the beat. As seen in other offerings these roles are not convincing when the female actor leaves all female traits at the door. The part may as well be played by a man.
The stunt men and woman definitely earned an evening on the couch with an ice pack or two and the movie is a handy reminder of cyber security, something that’s been forgotten during this Covid heavy zeitgeist.
An all female action crime caper is always going to be compared to the Oceans Eleven movie franchise, until one of these movies is good enough to blow the bar out of the water for this genre. Sadly The 355 movie didn’t help the cause by taking the end ‘walk off’ scene straight out of the Oceans Eleven playbook.
It was also disappointing to watch our tough protagonists’ resolve completely disintegrate, to the point of not being able to move, when faced with male betrayal.
Go for the action sequences and the close ups of some stunningly beautiful faces.
Rating 2.5/5
For more information go to: Event Cinema.
