Ever since the release of Die Hard (1988), which was a hit the year it came out, ever since then, there have been numerous films that have taken the same basic premise but simply applied it to different locations or to different demographics. The basic premise is that Bruce Willis starred as John McClane who accidentally gets trapped in a building as terrorists or criminals are taking it over and it's up to McClane to stop them. This basic premise has been applied to so many films with slight changes here and there. Home Alone (1990) is one such example. Instead of a grown man, the hero is a 10-year-old boy. Speed (1994) is another example. Instead of a building, the location is a moving bus. The Raid (2011) is yet another example. Instead of the United States, that film is set in Indonesia.
Director and co-writer Ariel Vromen (The Angel and The Iceman) is doing his version of Die Hard but instead of being set at Christmas, Vromen sets his film on April 29, 1992, which is infamously the start of the Los Angeles riots. That uprising was sparked by the acquittal of the four police officers who beat up Rodney King in what many believe was part of systemic practices within the Los Angeles Police Department against African Americans. It's an interesting twist to put on the Die Hard template, but, as it stands, the fact that this film occurs during the Rodney King riots has not much bearing on the plot or much of the themes. Christmas was not much of a factor in the 1988 classic either, but it feels as though if you're going to use a controversial event like the L.A. uprising, then you would do so for a more substantial reason than just being window dressing for an action thriller.
Tyrese Gibson (Fast X and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) stars as Mercer, the John McClane of this scenario. He's a former gang member who just got of prison but he now works at a metalworking plant in Los Angeles. He's also the single father to a teenage boy who was being raised by his mother and grandmother. It's stated that the mother and grandmother are no longer around with the implication that they're dead, but we get no explanation. Mercer is simply trying to make sure his son doesn't go down the same path as he did. He doesn't want his son to be a gang-banger, so he's extra strict, which creates tension between him and his son.
Christopher Ammanuel (Black Lightning) plays Antoine, the teenage son to Mercer. We really learn nothing about him. The only thing we get is that he wants to join the rioters. This was after his father told him to stay inside. Like a lot of young Black people, he's angry and wants to take it out on whatever he can. He's obviously missing his mother and grandmother, but it's never explained what happened to them and how he's really handling it. It's implied that he could be a gang-banger like his dad, but the film never indicates any possible steps toward that, outside of Mercer's fear.
Ray Liotta (Hannibal and Goodfellas) co-stars as Lowell, the other single father in this film. If this were Die Hard, he would be Hans Gruber, as played by Alan Rickman. Lowell is not a terrorist, but he is a brutal criminal, heartless yet organized who pulls off various heists. He's more like the villain in Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995). Lowell has two sons who are both grown. Oddly, his relationship with his sons is developed more than that of Mercer and Antoine. Otherwise, Lowell is established as the polar opposite or evil version of Mercer. Whereas Mercer will do anything to protect his son, Lowell sees his sons as disposable. Protecting his sons isn't a priority for him or even a consideration.
Scott Eastwood (Fast X and Suicide Squad) co-stars as Riggin, the eldest son of Lowell. He's one who has absolutely followed in his criminal father's footsteps. However, he wants out of his father's criminal business. He's not as brutal as his father and he's not in it for the long haul. He does have a plan for one more heist, which he thinks can be his last. Where he differs from his father in strategy is that he's more ambitious and comes up with a very complicated and difficult heist for $10 million, which is too much for even his dad.
Along with being at odds with his father, Riggin also has a brother named Dennis, played by Dylan Arnold (Oppenheimer and Halloween Ends). The film spends an inordinate amount of time with Dennis, but it doesn't add up to much or concludes in a way that is all that effective. The film purports the father-son relationship to be the central relationship here, but there's so much of Riggin and Dennis that it detracts from that central relationship.
To compare it to Die Hard, Vromen's film takes too long to get to the actual premise. This is a hour and a half film and it takes a hour before we get to the actual premise. This wouldn't have been bad if there were more to the thrill ride. The film becomes Mercer versus Lowell, but we get so little of that, it's almost pointless once the main conflict begins. It's practically over before it starts. The riots are a backdrop and it never becomes as integral or influential to the plot, as one might think. The riots almost don't seem to matter, other than being a kind of cover. It's also notable that this is the last film that Ray Liotta filmed before he died in 2022.
Rated R for violence and pervasive language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 36 mins.
In theaters.