Under the lens takes a deep look at films by focusing in on one or two particular areas of the picture that helped to define it for better or for worse. Spoilers will be included in this review.
American Renegades is an action thriller from director Steven Quale and stars J.K. Simmons, Sullivan Stapleton, and Charlie Bewley. It follows the story of a team of Navy SEALs who discover an underwater treasure in Nazi gold at the bottom of a Bosnian lake.,
Under The Lens: Originality and Villain
Originality: American Renegades is a heist picture and takes advantage of a very original premise. A team of SEAL’s set out to retrieve a fortune in gold from a submerged city that was buried under a lake bt resistance fighters during WWII, I can’t honestly think of a film that has done a plot quite like this, and it enhances the pictures otherwise more dull action plot. The CGI and underwater Laketown are interesting and the picture creates an eerie ghost town feel that is fun to experience.
Villain: Where American Renegades sadly falls short is its underwhelming and lackluster villain. Set during the Bosnian conflict the main baddie is a stereotypically evil general, now he plays second fiddle to the heist plot, however, this picture (as any heist film) needs a strong antagonist, whether that is the location, police, rival thieves etc. In the end, this villain is simply boring, having the villains be a rival team out to steal the gold or an evil archeologist. If they had wanted to keep the villain they had, writing him better or simply giving him some extra screentime (He is in maybe 3-4 scenes) would have vastly improved his standing as the prime bad guy.
Highlights
The underwater city is very well designed and the CGI does not take the viewer out of the experience all that much
The opening action setpiece is a lot of fun and sets the tone of the picture as an action-adventure.
The cast chemistry was good and the SEAL team did feel like a team who had been with each other for a long time.
Something to think about
What would you do if you suddenly found information leading to a hiddle treasure? Would you seek it out even if it was dangerous?
Conclusion
Overall American Renegades is a fun little action-adventure picture, its unusual plot and creative heist raises this above other titles, and its cast has good chemistry and is clearly enjoying themselves. A boring and one-dimensional villain along with a script that is uneven drags this film down a bit, however, it is a fun adventure that shines a light on a conflict that has not been explored in film since the late 90s. American Renegades is no masterpiece but it does not try to be, it is a perfect matinee picture to catch on the weekend or for a group of friends to watch over pizza.
