No Good Deed (Cinema Screening)

(Spoilers)

No Good Deed seems to have had next to no promotion as I only stumbled upon this movie whilst browsing this weekends listings at my local cinema. The two line synopsis was enough to intrigue me and with the lead being the increasingly well known Idris Elba I thought there could have been potential.

It turns out I was right, well in my opinion anyway. I’m sure that this film won’t get very good reviews but it should do really. No Good Deed is a small scale thriller with a simple plot and it works so well. Now despite really enjoying this movie there were a number of things that could have been done slightly differently which would have improved the overall picture. Whilst the initial tension was fantastic it was dragged out for too long and the time between Elba’s character, Colin, being invited into the house and his revealing of his real intentions was too long. Meg (Leslie Bibb) was killed off too quickly, there was potential for her to make a comeback later on in the film and she could have been an alternative to all of the conventionality placed objects that Terry (Taraji P. Henson) used to escape the clutches on Colin on several occasions. Colin was a nasty character however I think more could have been done to make this character that little bit meaner, the opening scenes were good to build up his character however when he is invited into Terry’s house too long is left without any sinister actions from him meaning that the viewers almost become comfortable with him. I didn’t hate him enough, that was the issue however despite all of these aspects I really did like the film, a lot. These would be better phrased as suggestions for improvement rather than flaws.

The tension that was built up through the film, especially the start, was perfect. I was on edge from the very beginning which I loved. The use of flashbacks worked really well too and resulted in an injection of tension where there previously was a lack of it. I was really able to get behind Terry here as the victim, she was such a likeable character and her care for her children only helped her in this. The action in the movie was good and after maybe a little too long in Terry’s house to start with things moved along nicely, the film was the perfect length too. Another thing I loved about No Good Deed was that it featured a twist! Recently I have been finding it hard to be surprised by twists but here there is one and it came out of left field! I loved it and even more was the way that the film subtlety hinted at it throughout the movie but I didn’t pick up on it! Idris Elba was able to pull off the convicted prisoner role really well and I would love to see him explore some more villainous roles in the future, think he has great potential for roles like this!

No Good Deed is a small scale thriller that doesn’t try to be something it’s not. It is highly enjoyable and allows for the viewer to become involved with the story. Great tension throughout and a killer twist mean that you are always eager to see how the events will unfold. Easily one of the better thrillers of 2014 however I imagine I will have enjoyed this movie more than most. Could I wish for a Taken style cult following?

BIGGEST FLAW – Maybe one too many conveniently placed objects

BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT – That twist

Rating – 8.5/10