Displaying items by tag: Dash Mihok

ARMOR/ARMORED

US, 2024, 89 minutes, Colour.

Jason Patric, Sylvester Stallone, Josh Wiggins, Dash Mihok.

Directed by Justin Routt.

Armor (original title, later Armored) is a security van robbery thriller. It received very bad reviews from the critics and not a great response from the public. However, it has found a life on Netflix streaming.

The setting, sometimes spectacular, is the border of Louisiana and Mississippi, the Mississippi River and a blocked bridge over it which serves as a dead end for the security van which is being pursued by cars with a team of thieves.

However, there is a family theme running throughout. Jason Patric is an alcoholic, former policeman, hyper-conscientious on duty, holding up a speeding car, then his own car, with wife and son, crashed into by a truck, the death of his wife. And he has become an alcoholic, organising meetings and urging members of the group to sobriety he still secretly drinks.

He has invited his son, Josh Wiggins, to work with him as a security guard. His wife is pregnant – and there is a family scene where father comes to dinner and there is some goodhearted and good-humoured banter.

In the meantime, there is a scene with a prisoner who is treated very leniently by guards, communicating with a government agent, and the arrangement of gold coins to be transported in the security van, with the connivance of the owner of the company.

There is family conversation on the drive, then the pursuit by the thieves. Sylvester Stallone, in a rather rare performance as a villain, is the leader. However, they are quite an erratic group, especially Dash Mihok doing a psychopathic turn. The two men in the van are determined to save the day, despite all kinds of gunfire attacks, teargas, the overturning of their vehicle.

While there is some madness and frantic wanting to attack in some of the group, Stallone’s character stays very calm, in control, not wanting to be a killer, eventually, after the overturning of the truck, its falling into the Mississippi, the two men escaping but being confronted by a psychopath, they are saved by Stallone.

There is some background to the gold coins that are being transported, contact with the prisoner, his being paroled, connection with the agent… Perhaps a possibility for a sequel which has not eventuated.