FILM
Ruby Rose Can’t Save “Vanquish”
Out lesbian actress stars in lackluster thriller
BY GARY M. KRAMER
The opening credits of
the slick but lazy crime
thriller, “Vanquish,” reveal
that Damon (Morgan
Freeman) is a decorated cop
who is now confi ned to a wheelchair.
He lives in a swanky abode
and is cared for by Victoria (out
lesbian actress Ruby Rose), who
has a sick child, Lily (Juju Journey
Brener). When a situation requires
Damon’s assistance, he offers Victoria
a deal: If she can pick up fi ve
bags of cash, he will pay for her
daughter’s medical care. To convince
her (read: give her no choice),
he puts Lily in a locked safe room
until she completes the assignment.
Meanwhile, a quartet of corrupt
cops, led by Detective Kehoe (Chris
Mullinax) are trying to keep a recording
that incriminates them
out of the hands of Agent Monroe
(Patrick Muldoon). They hole up in
an empty drugstore and contact
Damon, who might be able to help
them steer clear of trouble.
“Vanquish” ties these two narratives
together, but the fi lm mostly
provides an opportunity for Rose
to fl ex her badass muscles as she
goes from appointment to appointment
meeting unsavory types and
collecting cash from them. She certainly
looks fi erce with her buzzcut
hair, her white leather jacket, and
the two guns she keeps at her
back — at least when she’s not
using them to threaten or kill Damon’s
contacts. But Rose is hardly
convincing as an actress, giving
wooden readings to lines like, “It’s
just not fair,” when complaining
about her daughter’s poor health
situation. (Lily’s condition is never
specifi ed). Rose can, to her credit,
amuse when she dispatches a sarcastic
one-liner in a confrontation,
but overall her role simply requires
her to look tough, which is pretty
much all she does.
In support, Morgan Freeman literally
phones in his performance,
spending most of his screen time
talking on a cell or directing Victoria
using computer screens and
Out lesbian Ruby Rose portrays Victoria in “Vanquish.”
a microphone. Freeman certainly
expresses conviction in his line
delivery — and he is best when he
offers a man, whose brother has
been killed by Victoria, his condolences
— but the role demands little
from the Oscar-winner (which
may be the very reason why he accepted
it).
Unfortunately, “Vanquish”
doesn’t generate much tension in
the scenes of Victoria meeting with
Damon’s contacts. Her fi rst stop at
a German nightclub ends in violence,
but Victoria’s efforts to help
a woman left alive is mostly useless.
Likewise, a sequence where
Victoria meets with a group of men
in a strange lair is not nearly as
uncomfortable for viewers as it is
for her. It’s not clear why director
Gallo, who cowrote the screenplay
with Samuel Bartlett, couldn’t be
bothered to up the ante a bit in
each segment. Watching Victoria
get the best of a handful of men
would be satisfying if there was a
degree of diffi culty.
Arguably the one sequence where
all the right elements come together
involves Rayo (Joel Michaely), a
fl amboyant man with wildly decorated
room, a penchant for cocaine
and Mint Juleps, and two handsome
guys on his sofa. Rayo offers
Victoria a drink, but she is not the
kind of errand girl who wants to be
social. However, that is not the response
Rayo wants, which is why
this vignette gets interesting.
The plotting is mostly step and
repeat, with every appointment a
trap. But the gotchas could have
been more inventive. A storyline
about Victoria’s late brother seems
to provide an excuse for the bad
characters’ bad behavior, but it
feels underdeveloped. Likewise, the
B-story involving the crooked cops
adds little to the narrative. Yes,
there are potential double-crosses,
but none of these subplots are particularly
surprising or inspiring.
Even when one scheming character
gets dispatched in a novel way,
it happens off-screen.
“Vanquish” does get a bit of verve
when Agent Monroe tries to get the
best of Kehoe and his associates,
but most of the fi lm feels underwhelming.
At least the copious
chase scenes provide some excitement,
LIONSGATE
even if the pulse-pounding
soundtrack cues viewers that there
is some action on screen.
Gallo also makes some odd
choices, such as using fl ashbacks
to scenes that have literally just
happened when Victoria is riding
on her motorcycle. These moments
may suggest what she is thinking —
about her daughter, about Damon
— but they seem like fi ller, not motivation,
as she zooms to and from
each appointment on her bike.
Rose cuts a striking fi gure in the
fi lm, and she can be fun to watch
when she effi ciently dispatches the
various characters she encounters.
But other than some gunplay,
she is mostly confi ned to motorcycle
chases. Anyone hoping “Vanquish”
would provide Rose with a
real kickass action character will
be disappointed by this lackluster
fi lm.
“VANQUISH” | Directed by
George Gallo | In select theaters;
on demand and digital April 20; on
DVD and Blu-Ray April 27 | Distributed
by Lionsgate and Grindstone
Entertainment Group, a Lionsgate
Company
April 22 - May 5,30 2021 | GayCityNews.com
/GayCityNews.com
