How do movies like “Marauders” get made? One assumes that
every film has a creative impetus at some point in its production, but it’s
incredibly hard to find one buried underneath this morally vile, incompetently
made thriller. And so one has to wonder if it wasn’t a “paycheck gig” for
everyone involved. Was it merely the “business” aspect of show business? Or did director
Steven C. Miller set out to make an intense thriller about on-the-edge cops and
deadly criminals that would rivet viewers to their seats and justify their
ticket or On Demand costs? Even for how negatively I responded to the
bafflingly inept “Marauders,” I choose to believe that Miller and his overly
talented cast didn’t just do it for a paycheck. Even with that in mind, it’s
hard to forgive.
“Marauders” opens with a scene straight out of this year’s “Triple
9,” as a series of masked men pull off a complex bank heist. They’re dressed
like the protagonists from the video game “Army of Two” (impersonal/terrifying skull
masks and bulletproof gear), and they’re highly-coordinated and technologically
savvy. They even throw down speakers, so a Siri-esque voice can issue orders
instead of the actual attackers—ex., “Do not hit the alarm or we will kill your
manager.” They complete the assault, and on the way out they shoot said bank
manager point blank with a shotgun. From the beginning, “Marauders” displays
signs of hyperactive, inept filmmaking, the kind that uses shaky cams and quick
cuts instead of actual visual compositions. It’s angry, loud and annoying.
We soon learn that the bank was owned by a high-powered
figure named Hubert (Bruce Willis, doing the bare minimum he can to get paid),
who hides secrets of political and business leaders in his safety deposit
boxes. Of course, the criminals of “Marauders” have more complex goals than
mere accumulation of wealth, which is something that FBI Agent Jonathan
Montgomery (Christopher Meloni) quickly uncovers, with the help of fellow
agents Stockwell (Dave Bautista) and Wells (Adrian Grenier), and local cop Mims
(Johnathon Schaech). Mims happens to have a wife dying of cancer, which should
add to depth to his character but just feels manipulative.
“Marauders” is such a by-the-numbers VOD-cop movie that it becomes depressing. A few scenes of plot furtherance as Montgomery
tries to uncover the identity and purpose of the robber-murderers unfold, and
then we get another crime, and then a bit more procedural, and then another
crime, and then a conclusion. Roll credits. In between this predictable
structure, we’re given next to nothing to care about. Meloni is an interesting
choice for the role that essentially becomes the lead (he’s an underrated actor
who more often gets supporting roles) but the writers bestow him almost nothing
interesting to play, forcing anger to become his defining trait. Hence, he
opens doors like he’s mad at them. Grenier looks bored and Bautista gives a
supporting part more than it deserves.
And then there’s the final act, full of revelations and twists
designed to shock but just rips gigantic plot holes in the rest of
the film, while also forcing it into a morally dubious conclusion. What is the
point of “Marauders”? One can’t take it seriously as social commentary at all,
but it tries so hard to include that kind of material that it feels like it
wants to be more than “dumb fun.” I’m all for a well-made action film, even of
the VOD variety, that delivers the thrills. But “Marauders” forgot the “fun”
part. It’s just “dumb.”