FAST CHARLIE (2023) review

written by: Richard Wenk
produced by: Ryan Donnell Smith, Brent C. Johnson, Jeff Holland, Daniel Grodnik and Mitchell Welch
directed by: Phillip Noyce
rating: not rated
runtime: 90 min.
U.S. release date: December 8, 2023 (select theaters & VOD)

Australian director Phillip Noyce made two of his best films in 2002 with the two impressive novel adaptations, Graham Greene’s “The Quiet American” and the “Rabbit-Proof Fence”, based on the work of Doris Pilkington Garimara. However, he’s primarily known for delivering action thrillers, from 1989’s “Dead Calm” and two Jack Ryan installments with Harrison Ford in the 90s. While he’s made plenty of films since then, many of them thrillers, the last great one was 2010’s “Salt” with Angelina Jolie. In recent years, Noyce’s work has been kind of erratic, with subpar pictures like “The Desperate Hours” and “Above Suspicion”, both of which revolved around distressed female protagonists. His latest is “Fast Charlie”, which combines violent action with charming comedy resulting in an engaging viewing experience.

The movie is written by screenwriter Richard Wenk, who penned all three of “The Equalizer” action thrillers with Denzel Washington and “The Protege” an action thriller from 2021. Wenk and Noyce obviously have a specific genre in common and with “Fast Charlie”, headlined by Pierce Brosnan, the focus is more on character than any unique plotlines. Still, there’s a pulpy sensibility present that’s fun, as Wenk adapts the source material Gun Monkey, the 2001 debut novel from writer Victor Gischler, primarily known for writing Marvel comic books.

Set in modern-day Mississippi, specifically Biloxi, the story revolves around Charlie Swift (Brosnan, working an accent that almost goes full Foghorn Leghorn), a aging hitman who prefers to be called a fixer who’s loyal to his good friend and mob boss, Stan (James Caan, in his final performance). Charlie has been assigned to find and terminate Rollo, a guy who’s in over his head with one too many bad connections. At the behest of Stan and another boss, Sal (Kevin Lehne), Charlie is tasked with taking a young punk named Blade (Brennan Keel Cook) under his wing – hint: he’s supposedly good with a knife – to do the hit job. Things go south real quick when he kid completely botches the job in attempt to his so-called creativity makes Rollo’s body identifiable.

This is where Charlie’s fixer skills come in handy and that brings him to the door of Rollo’s ex-girlfriend, Marcie Framer (Monica Baccaren) a taxidermist living in a stilt house on the Gulf Coast. He needs her to make sure the right guy was killed and while she’s happy to oblige, it’s not going to be that simple. The situation Charlie finds himself in gets more complicated when Blade shows his duplicitous side and an eager New Orleans crime boss named Beggar (Gbenga Akiinagbe) starts moving in on Stan’s territory with his crew in tow. Violence is inevitable when Charlie learns he’s the only one left of Stan’s “family”, dispensing with those who’ve betrayed Stan and determining what kind of evidence Rollo was hiding. Apart from Charlie’s immediate directive, he also has visions of retirement in Italy and newfound feelings for Marci he must contend with.

“Fast Charlie” kicks things off like so many other action thrillers, where we’re given a fast-forward of a protagonist we have not yet been introduced to in a predicament narrated by Brosnan. It’s obvious this standoff in a junkyard will come to play later and that makes the narrative device noticeably overused. It seems odd that as much as the Rollo character is talked about in “Fast Charlie”, we only briefly see him standing in a doorway and that’s it – in fact, the actor who plays him is strangely uncredited. That being said, the movie is more concerned with the sudden situations the characters find themselves in, primarily Charlie and Marcie, rather than offering any kind of compelling plot.

That’s fine considering the subtle and unexpected sparks that develop between Brosnan and Baccaren’s characters and the amount of time Noyce allows with them. Brosnan plays Charlie as he is written, a Southern gentleman who bristles when referred to as a hitman. He lives alone, looks after his ill boss (who is plagued by a form of dementia amid other illnesses), and is genuinely polite with everyone, until it’s time for him to kill them. When that happens, the task is completed in a brutal and quick manner. Baccaren’s character can take care of herself, yet there is an underlying loneliness about her that leads to her curiosity towards Charlie. There’s a nice layer to the Charlie character which finds his culinary talents (specifically for Italian cuisine) impressing Marcie, adding a certain humanity to the character. Nothing is forced between the two characters, who develop more of a sincere appreciation or partnership, simply enjoying each other’s company.

Funny and tender moments are naturally earned in “Fast Charlie” and many of them occur out of specific situations that Charlie and Marcie find themselves involved in or certain people they encounter. One example is when they visit Rolo’s foul-mouthed mother, Mavis (played with abandon by Sharon Gless), who doesn’t hold back on her disdain towards Marcie. It’s a welcome, unexpected turn from the veteran “Cagney & Lacey” actress.

Considering this is Caan’s last role before he died in June of 2022 at age 82, there’s a certain poignancy to the faithful devotion that Charlie has with his boss. Brosnan and Caan work off each other well, with the elderly kingpin dispensing words of wisdom that Charlie respectfully considers. Charlie lives by a “treat the people who treat you right right” motto and his actions back that up.

Both Wenk and Noyce know just what to do with the material and most of the time genre formulaic beats are avoided, offering viewers unexpected humor and choice moments focused on realistic characters. Action sequences play to the protagonists age in pragmatic ways, steering clear of any geriatric super heroics. “Fast Charlie” barely offers more than typical B-movie fare here, but it’s worth checking out to see a relaxed Brosnan soulfully fitting into the titular role.

RATING: **1/2