Precious Cargo

Canadian action thriller Precious Cargo, starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Bruce Willis, directed by Max Adams and written by Adams and Paul V Seetachitthas,  has all the hallmarks of a typical chase-and-shoot suspense film (including much violence), but with superior execution, design and style. Immediately noticeable are the movie’s stunning visuals and excellent soundtrack, with gorgeous cinematography and energising rock music. Introduced via a superb photo montage of exciting scenes, the film moves right into full drive and the fast pace continues throughout.

Opening with main character and career thief Jack (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) casually playing golf on a pier, then escaping with his life while negotiating with crooked gunrunners, the momentum builds as he and his unlikely sniper side-kick, Logan (Jenna B Kelly) – who looks more like a college student than a criminal – gear up to steal billions in jewels. Ever the conman, Jack borrows Logan’s dog to woo a naive and winsome veterinarian, Jenna (Lydia Hull). Jenna has no idea what she is getting into, until, in the middle of their love-making, Jack’s pregnant ex, Karen (Claire Forlani), appears and casually exclaims “use a condom”.

Bruce Willis is Eddie, a ruthless crime lord who has been bilked out of millions as a result of Karen’s calculating maneuvres, and threatens to kill her unless she delivers what he’s owed. Thus she turns to her old flame Jack to convince him to pull off a half-a-billion-dollar heist.

As a script, Precious Cargo is not outstanding, but it’s adequate for the purpose of pure entertainment. As such, the actors perform well, especially the dashing Gosselaar, Hull as Karen (his feisty, conniving ex) and Kelly as the spunky, efficient sniper, Logan. Ageing has allowed Bruce Willis to convincingly portray a particularly mean villain, though he seems slightly lacking in vigour in this role.

Though not original in terms of plot and dialog, Precious Cargo has style, glamour and is entertaining. With great visuals and music, the movie is a fun, escapist romp.

Catherine Sedgwick

Precious Cargo is released nationwide on 15^th July 2016.

Watch the trailer for Precious Cargo here: