Legacy: Black Ops (2010)

Idris Elba. How many chances can only give you? I'm running out of ways to apologise to myself for watching this shot that ain't you being Stringer Bell in The Wire. In a way it wouldn't be so bad if you hadn't been so prolific since The Wire.
I feel like a bad parent; I've supported you despite letting me down. The best thing that you've been in since was that Fatal Attraction Beyonce movie and all you did was pose and be stoic like you were modelling for the cover of Jet magazine. I'll concede that your copy show Luther was gleefully dumb but not your finest hour.
If this continues i'm gonna be left with the conclusion available- that it was all downhill to The Wire writing staff and nothing to do with you.
Article 13th in this damning condemnation is Legacy: Black Ops. Which is like a shittier redux of The Manchurian Candidate than the Denzel version, which itself was 8417 Shit Street, Shittington, Surrey. First off its budget. Not in the delightful 'lets-put-on-a-show' way but the 'no effort-why sweat the details' way. Which is not to say that writer/director Thomas Ikemi isn't interested in making a visually interesting film but I don't know of you can make a film about Black Ops soldiers set in a dingy room. Maybe you can, but this guy can't.
The acting is alright I guess. Clarke Peters (Lester Fremon from The Wire) pops up but I once you get over that reunion there's nothing else to hang your hat on.  Elba isn't horrible playing this unsettled grizzly Gump grunt but I'd love to know why he wanted to produce this catastrophe? The script is half baked and where it isn't- it's stolen from other better films. It sad to be so negative about it.  But it's too boring to be exciting, too nonsensical to care. I'll tell you what it reminded me of a bad theatre-to-tv adaptation; like where the actors are acting for theatre instead of tv and the sets are unconvincing and everybody seems a bit too intense and shouty.  I'll bet it never even occurred to Ikimi to try his piece out like that. Maybe cos he was afraid of the immediate reaction.  Like I say I don't like tagging on independent film but this is a no.  Bad Idris Elba.
Oh yeah. Your Twitter is shit too...

I watched Legacy: Black Ops (2010) on BluRay via LoveFilm
My 2011 in Movies will return with The Outlaw (1943)