By Robert Yaniz Jr.

DAY 26 OF THE 2018 HOLIDAY BINGE

Nicole Kidman dives into darkness, but a muddled quest for revenge fails to match her intensity.

THE HYPE

The concept of the “revenge thriller” has become stale in Hollywood. As perhaps typified by the Death Wish series, any story of a singular vigilante bent of exacting justice has become entwined with a kind of hyperviolence. Over the years, filmmakers have attempted to find ways to reinvigorate this formula by toying with conventions. One of the most common ways of doing so is to put a woman at the center of the aggressive genre, though this often doesn’t offer much of a boost to the storytelling. Case in point…

THE STORY

In Destroyer, Nicole Kidman plays battered-down LAPD cop Erin Bell, who embarks on a tireless mission to take out a gang leader from her past when he resurfaces. We follow Erin’s investigation as she hunts down his former associates, though the film’s real theme lies with how Erin’s own actions and decisions have led her down a dark path. The story at hand is merely an exercise she must complete to come to terms with her own role in hurting those she loves the most.

THE CAST

The trouble is that Destroyer takes two hours to tread all-too-familiar ground. The sole highlight is Kidman’s performance, which sees her trade in her glamor and inherent charm for an unrecognizable visage befitting a woman who has seen better (and certainly happier) days. Sebastian Stan, Toby Kebbell and Tatiana Maslany also pop up in the extensive supporting cast, but Destroyer is first and foremost a showcase for Kidman to demonstrate her range once again. On that level at least, the film is a success.

THE PRODUCTION

Director Karyn Kusama — whose last feature was the 2015 horror film The Invitation — does a fine job bringing the story of Destroyer to the screen, but the script overcomplicates what would have worked better as a straightforward tale wrapped around a character study. As is, Erin suffers as someone we can truly understand because of how her past and present are intercut and the convoluted connection between the two. But, man, Kidman gives it her all in this one.

THE VERDICT

Had Destroyer starred a less gifted actress, it would have probably been indistinguishable from Jennifer Garner’s critically derided Peppermint and its ilk. Yet, with Kidman turning out for the parade of cliches that forms Destroyer‘s mostly predictable narrative, the film is at least worth checking out for her work alone. The material just doesn’t measure up on any level with what Kidman is doing here. Between her action-heavy roles in Aquaman and now Destroyer, the message is clear: give us Kidman the action hero.

Destroyer stars Nicole Kidman, Sebastian Stan, Toby Kebbell, Tatiana Maslany, Bradley Whitford, Jade Pettyjohn and Scoot McNairy and is directed by Karyn Kusama.