Those Who Wish Me Dead | Movie Review | Movies DECODED

Welcome back to Movies DECODED! This is your source for movie and pop culture news! Today, we’ll be discussing the brand new movie, “Those Who Wish Me Dead”, only in theaters and streaming on HBO Max for 31 days. From director Taylor Sheridan comes yet another pulse pounding thriller. Based on the book of the same name, “Those Who Wish Me Dead” takes on what may seem to be an overused or simple plot at first and puts a unique spin on it. Almost guaranteed to make audiences

 anxious and excited, the film displays a story that isn’t one of a kind when compared to today’s modern releases, but still a breath of fresh air from the average thriller formula. The plot follows Conner Casserly, played by Finn Little, a boy whose father exposed and identified corrupt authorities, and is now being hunted down by the bad guys. The plot also follows Hannah Faber, played by Angelina Jolie, a firefighter who is traumatized by a failed mission, and is determined to protect Conner. The cast also includes Jon Bernthal, Nicholas Hoult, Aiden Gilen, Medina Senghore, and Tyler Perry, all who portray intriguing characters who are heavily followed throughout the film. The plot’s central focus on its characters is probably its most definitive trait. The story takes the time to build up the backgrounds and foundations for all characters, even if, by the end of the film, the plot will have felt a little too character centric. The film just spends too much time in exposition and rising action that the climax and ending feel abrupt. Unfortunately, the story also has one or two plot holes, leaving viewers confused and unsure about the fate of the movie’s characters. Therefore, the movie also feels very shortened, offering a story with a lot more potential than what it was able to give in its hour and a half runtime. Disregarding the film’s negative qualities, it is easy to recognize its positive traits, being the cast’s performance, the movie’s determination to connect audiences to its characters, and the ambitious story. The movie helped audiences have an emotional connection with the characters they would spend over an hour with. The actors and actresses who portrayed said characters were able to convey strong emotional responses, natural actions, and reactions. Notably, Angelina Jolie shines as Hannah, delivering the role seemingly effortlessly. The same can be said about Finn Little, who, although he has little screen time, joins Hollywood’s list of very talented child actors. Unlike other films and shows, where children may be stereotyped, Little gives a much more realistic performance, also due to the film’s great scripting. The movie also has a couple of action sequences, which were very enjoyable, even if short-lived. Many of them were delivered very menacingly by the film’s antagonists, played by Nicholas Hoult and Aiden Gillen. Another honorable mention is the film’s VFX, which is used mainly for fire, but still plausible. All in all, “Those Who Wish Me Dead” has an amazing cast, and great story, that unfortunately cannot peak as high as it possibly could at its short runtime and heavy weighted plot. However, the film is still worth viewing in theaters or at home on HBO Max. What did you think of “Those Who Wish Me Dead”? Leave your thoughts and comments below and like and subscribe if you would like to hear more from Movies DECODED! Just like always, more Movies DECODED content is available on YouTube right now!