Where to start? Don't second-guess yourself: it's been panned for a reason. It is an ugly, pointless potboiler lacking in brains, charisma and even the slightest hint of excitement. What follows is one and a half hours of very crude torture scenes, mock character development, Macgyver-like scenarios of escape and an abundance of completely unnecessary CGI effects.
It just reeks of "cut and dry". Obviously it was too much effort to spend time on practical special effects so the director just found a cheap CGI company to scribble in the animals, the weapon effects, the squibs, the sunsets, the lighting, and anything else he can think of. Poor direction. Frankly I would think after such long and successful careers that Travolta and De Niro were beneath such roles.
Travolta, as always, brings a kind of raw energy to his role and immerses himself in his character, even if his accent is off he never winks to the audience and does his best to do his job to a good standard. De Niro, however, is out of his element here, with a slipping southern accent that wasn't necessary. He feigns injury like Pierce Brosnan (poorly). Even when threading a metal cable through the exposed wound in his leg he is not convincing.
After a poorly conceived prologue, a taut first act will draw you in, but unfortunately it all goes downhill from there. The sheer excess of symbolism and foreshadowing is a clumsy misfire. Macgyver scenarios pile up quickly and the action climax will have you practically laughing at how stupid it is. Seriously. Don't pay to watch this crap.
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