Noomi Rapace Underutilized In Dead Man Down

Dead Man Down is one of those movies shot for the big screen, but could be perceived as a made-for-TV crime drama. Danish director Niels Arden Oplev, best known for his Swedish movie The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, built his career from the production of a series of TV movies. The 2009 Swedish thriller - the first in a trilogy - made such an impact internationally that it not only made Oplev famous, but also generated worldwide attention to its leading actress Noomi Rapace as well.

When comparing the Hollywood version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo with its Swedish counterpart, the latter is definitely stronger and more impactful. But that's why, perhaps, Dead Man Down is disappointing since I expected Oplev's American theatrical debut to have a bigger 'wow' impact. It's entertaining and suspenseful if you like thrillers and action movies, but the plot is too weak to be credible. The story tries to paint revenge as the biggest priority for crime kingpins and assassins, but the attempt to add a good conscience to the underworld characters is just not convincing enough. Unlike Quentin Tarentino whose movies are very often about revenge as well, this flick lacks depth and poetry.

But the weakest link in the entire film is that Noomi Rapace's talents are very underutilized. Rapace's performance as Lisabeth Salander in the Millennium Trilogy was breathtakingly excellent and will, probably, continue to haunt audiences around the world for a long time to come. But her accolades throughout her career - from her stellar stage-performing record to her Best Actress award at Sweden's prestigious Guldbagge Awards - should lead to an ongoing expansion of her roles rather than repetitive and limiting ones. The Spanish-Swedish actress should really stop playing physically and emotionally tormented women on screen. She undertook such an insignificant and totally dispensable role as the gypsy in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. In Dead Man Down, she once again plays a physically-abused, but tough woman seeking revenge.

Along the same line, Colin Farrell's talent as an actor is also not maximized. Having seen his performance in Phone Booth, I continue to wonder why he continuously chooses action-hero roles with very few facial expressions required. I can only say that the star power of Oplev and Rapace had to be the only reason why there's a cast of renowned actors in very minor, supportive roles in this movie - Oscar-Award nominee Terrence Howard, French actress Isabelle Huppert and the always charismatic Armand Assante.

The Swedish version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo may be more successful, but Rooney Mara has moved on beyond her Lisabeth Salender role whereas Noomi Rapace still has not.