An enforcer has to sacrifice everything to save a young girl he has befriended from his femme fatale boss who is involved in cybersex trafficking.

Antonio Banderas is no stranger to action movies, having made his name (in the English speaking world at least) with movies such as ‘Desperado’ and ‘The Mask of Zorro’ in the 1990s. In ‘The Enforcer’, Banderas follows the lead of the likes of Liam Neeson by appearing as an action lead in his 60s, playing Cuda, an ageing enforcer who has just got out of prison and is seeking a final payday to secure his retirement. To achieve this, he finds himself tasked with recruiting his own replacement and completing a couple of final jobs for his employer (played with glee by Kate Bosworth).

During his time in prison, Cuda’s perspective on life has changed and he wants to make amends with his now teenage daughter, who has grown up without much involvement on his part. This brings additional moral complexity to the jobs he is tasked with, with further complications brought to the forefront when another teenage girl gets caught up in the situation. Banderas delivers a good performance in the lead and adds more weight to proceedings than the story may have otherwise had, even as the rest of the film around him is fairly ordinary.

It will likely come as absolutely no surprise that ‘The Enforcer’ does not reinvent the wheel and plays out pretty much exactly as you’d expect it too, following the action thriller template to a tee. It could easily have been a direct to DVD effort without a relatively big name in the leading role (Banderas was nominated for an Oscar for ‘Pain and Glory’ a couple of years ago), but that’s not to say it isn’t enjoyable or entertaining. It does exactly what I expected it do and is neatly packaged at 90 minutes, and whilst the story isn’t going to throw too many surprises at the audience, if you’re looking for a turn your brain off dose of action and movie violence it fits the bill.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Richard Hughes

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Kate Bosworth, Mojean Aria, Alexis Ren, Zolee Griggs, 2 Chainz and Mark Smith

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt14857730/