Blu-ray Review: LEGACY BLACK OPS - Painfully Slow But Elba Makes It Somewhat Watchable
Legacy: Black Ops is an exercise in claustrophobic tension studying the effect of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder on a soldier returning to civilisation after undergoing torture at the hands of the enemy. Made on a budget of just $500,000 the film was written and directed by newcomer Thomas Ikimi and stars The Wires Idris Elba who gives an acting tour de force in the lead role. Legacy: Black Ops is released on Blu-ray and DVD from Monday. Here is our review... Malcolm Gray (Elba), a celebrated soldier specialising in black ops is taken hostage and tortured whilst taking part in a failed mission. On release he is unable to come to terms with the experience. Gray holes himself up in a shabby hotel room to try to overcome the effects of severe anxiety and paranoia. His isolation and internal debate over the legacy he will leave behind results in some terrible realisations about his life and family, particularly his brother, a US senator. With a strong, fast moving opening sequence, the film begins part way through Grays black ops mission prior to his capture. It feels like a typical men on a mission movie with his team of soldiers establishing individual personalities very quickly. As the team are captured the film cuts to an excellent opening titles sequence as newspaper headlines glide across the screen integrating the cast and crew names into the text. Following the titles the film settles down and the pace massively slows as Gray moves into his hotel room. It soon becomes apparent that the remainder of the film is going to take place in this one room. In fact every scene in Legacy: Black Ops is an interior scene, there are not even any establishing shots of locations and as a result the film feels more like a stage play and becomes very static. This is not helped by unimaginative camera work; the camera rarely moves it is literally a window into the room. It is only when Grays story is told in occasional flashback scenes that the camera has the chance to come to life. Idris Elba gives a really strong performance in the central role. His portrayal of Gray is quite believable as the scarred, psychologically damaged soldier haunted by visions of his past. Elba is intense and dynamic showing great range as he slowly descends into a virtually inevitable outcome. Performing monologues direct to the camera with extreme emotion unfortunately his efforts are wasted as he is almost too good for the material he has been given to work with and the script lets him down badly. Legacy: Black Ops is dogged by its slow pacing as it plods towards a conclusion. Its one of those films where not a lot actually happens and supporting characters are come and go without making much of an impact on the story. The film is certainly claustrophobic merely from its setting in the single location but it fails to generate any tension only boredom.