by Rich Cross
Dutch-made, English-language thriller Black Lotus is intended to be the breakthrough vehicle for champion kickboxer and relative movie newcomer Rico Verhoeven. He’s a muscular and brooding presence throughout the film and commits to the crisply choreographed fight sequences with the requisite physicality. Verhoeven is predictably less comfortable in those aspects of the film that explores his character’s emotional and psychological makeup.
When a hostage rescue mission goes tragically wrong, Dutch special forces operative Matteo (Verhoeven) blames himself for causing his partner John’s death. Guilt-ridden, Matteo resigns his commission and finds a new life as an itinerant construction worker. Returning to Amsterdam, he visits John’s widow Helene. Despite his determination to remain emotionally closed off, he’s soon adopted as an unofficial uncle by Helene’s young daughter Angie. Matteo is unaware that her new husband, Paul, an accountant for the super-rich, is embezzling money from the local mob. When his duplicity is uncovered, crime boss Saban orders his muscle to kidnap Angie. An incensed Matteo sets out to free her, whatever the risks and however much the odds are stacked against him.
Plot-wise, this is the kind of rescue-and-revenge flick that Liam Neeson currently signs up for every few months. This is a film without a single original story beat, but many viewers choosing to stream Black Lotus will likely judge it more on execution than on originality. The action sequences are competently shot, making decent budget-constrained use of real-life Amsterdam landmarks. A final four-way rooftop showdown is the highlight of the combat sequences and the movie’s strongest moment. But such derivative fare is unlikely to lift Verhoeven to the next tier of cinematic action heroes.
BLACK LOTUS will be released on UK streaming platforms on June 19th.
