Director: Pierre Morel
Writer: Matthew Kennedy
Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Rupert Friend, Ray Stevenson
Synopsis: It follows Avery Graves as she is blackmailed by terrorists into betraying her own country to save her kidnapped husband.
It’s that time again for the annual awful Kate Beckinsale action film that keeps popping up like the by-product of a sexually transmitted disease—seemingly trashy fun at first, but leaving you unprepared for the consequences. Beckinsale has turned the overrated Underworld franchise into a cottage industry of underwhelming genre films like Jolt and now, Canary Black. This predictable spy slogfest barely gets off the ground.
Movies like Canary Black are predicated on your willingness to let go of plausibility, sit back, and enjoy the ride. However, with spy action films being released daily on almost every platform imaginable, you must do something to stand out. Canary Black stumbles on the fatal flaw of doing nothing exceptional, hovering aimlessly between average and below average. Prime Video sends this Canary down the coal mine in the search of endless cliches.
Beckinsale struts around slowly in high-heeled boots, playing Avery Graves, a secret agent working for the United States government. Avery comes from a good lineage, being a second-generation spy. Her boss is the CIA Chief who goes by the name, Jarvis (the late Ray Stevenson), who worked with her father for years. Avery has been groomed to be a covert operative since she turned eighteen. Jarvis has taught her everything she knows and is also a close family friend.
Avery’s parents have passed on, leaving Jarvis and her husband, David (Rupert Friend), as the only family she has. She has been traveling a lot lately, and David is worried about her stress and wants her to settle down, even pushing her to adopt some adorable puppies upon her return. However, after going into the office to brief Jarvis on her latest mission, she returns to find David missing, the house showing signs of a struggle, and a ransom demand that requires her to betray her country.
Canary Black is directed by Pierre Morel, the filmmaker who thrilled us with the original Liam Neeson hit Taken but has since delivered lackluster efforts like the John Cena vehicle Freelance and the problematic Jennifer Garner film Peppermint. (There’s even a scene in Peppermint where the main character attacks a cartel using a piñata warehouse as a front.) Canary Black feels like an unofficial sequel to that misstep.
The script, written by Matthew Kennedy, offers nothing that couldn’t be produced by someone after watching a couple dozen competent spy films from the past twenty years. Everything in Canary Black sets a low bar, from the gadgets (and their laughable use—especially a drone delivering Iris when she could have simply ordered a rideshare or, you know, walked).
The movie feels like a ’90s retread, full of technology but completely ignoring the reality of constant digital surveillance and the risk of getting caught. Canary Black isn’t worth watching because it demonstrates how cinema is shifting from an art form to a content-streaming mill. The plot is a recycled cliché, with Beckinsale’s character stealing a secret file that will expose military secrets and agents—yada yada yada yada.
We can, however, give credit to Kate Beckinsale, who, at 51, continues to land action heroine roles in an industry that turns its back on women over a certain age faster than Leonardo DiCaprio on a girlfriend’s 25th birthday. However, spy films are such an oversaturated genre that audiences expect something smarter. The action needs to be extraordinary, and the plot points need to be, well, on point. Canary Black offers none, and we should demand more for our time.
You can stream Canary Black exclusively on Prime Video.
