Highly Overrated But Still Good

A lot of fun.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Redemption (Hummingbird) has all the feel of a novel that has been made into a movie (it isn't). An emotionally scarred veteran of the UK war in Afghanistan now lives on the streets in London, when a mix of circumstances provide him with a second chance. He's hardly pure however, and the movie includes a fair amount of questionable decisions and violence, as well as much temptation for a nun. The movie easily holds your interest, and it is thoroughly watchable. The drawbacks? It has a bit of a "Haven't I seen this before?" to it, especially when Statham serves as a driver, or flexes his muscles against multiple opponents. And there are times when you say to yourself, "Gee. Would that character really have done THAT?" But these are actually modest quibbles. The decisions faced by both Statham, and Agata Buzek, as the nun, are genuinely interesting, and writer/director Steven Knight more often than not chooses a unexpected resolution to the problems faced by the characters. I'd give this a 7.5, which I rounded up to 8 for IMDb scoring purposes.

Writer and director Steven Knight probably wanted have a thoughtful examination of the situation that some ex British servicemen find themselves in once they leave the army and suffer from post traumatic stress.Jason Statham attempts to stretch his acting muscles in Hummingbird. He plays former Afghanistan veteran Joey who is living rough in London and is a drunk.He breaks into a flat of someone who is away in New York for a few months, assumes his identity and then embarks in a mission to find the person responsible for the death of a woman he was close to. He gets help from a nun who like Joey has been damaged by past events.The film is rather boring and uninvolving. It is not really an action film and the message it wants to convey is rather shallow.

After I saw Wild Card, which has some of the most awesome fight-scenes ever, I thought maybe, just maybe this one too has fighting gold in it. But no. Well, it has some fighting, but not nearly the same caliber as Wild Card. (I knew Corey Yuen wasn't involved so I did not expect the violence to be that good, but I hoped)This more of a drama really, but with some action/violence sprinkled in. Actually it's a pretty decent movie. Jason Statham has this screen presence, he is just entertaining to watch. Also his fighting style is very cool.Hummingbird/Redemption doesn't reinvent anything, but it does what it tries to do, pretty well. It has a couple of great moments, but mostly it's OK, you know? Had IMDb had half stars, this would be a 6.5 for me.Overall the movie is entertaining and kind of interesting, but it just lacks a little something something to make it really good.

Similar to many Jason Statham action thrillers, Redemption/Hummingbird is more loosely a typical action film but nonetheless a solid attention seeking slowly paced drama, with several action fight scenes. Statham is able to showcase his acting skills as he plays a tough homeless man seeking a fresh new start from a messy past. What the audience witnesses and what makes the film work is the character development, as we slowly get attached to his character. Along the way, he finds a few close friends such as a helpful nun whom helps him, as we are also suggested that he finds further proof and much needed information from her. Redemption is not a typical action film, as if those watching it simply based on the trailer are expecting that such, they may be very well disappointed. The film broadens into deep and darker territory and it is a joy and pleasure to watch. Redemption not having a wide US release, due to it being a more so UK film, has brought upon the reason why, however the audience does get to view into its further purposes. Filled with great artwork, dialogue and scenery.