Leofwine_draca Once again a modern-day action thriller seems to be universally hated among fellow 'net reviewers, and I can't see why. STRATTON isn't a great movie, that's for certain, but is it absolutely pitiful as my fellow reviewers would have you think? Not a bit of it. It's a cheap, gritty, terrorist-focused story in which SBS action man Dominic Cooper tracks down a mastermind with disaster in mind. The story is based on a novel by hard-nut author Duncan Falconer. This British film is full to the brim of small-scale but elaborate action sequences, from fist fights to car chases, shoot-outs and big explosions. The plot is predictable and has holes at times, but the story has real momentum that makes this a very easy watch, and that's all I really ask for. Cooper is well supported by an intriguing cast that includes Connie Nielsen, Gemma Chan, Derek Jacobi, Thomas Kretschmann and Tom Felton, and some of the stunts and choreography aren't too bad at all.

jaycurtis-46263 This is a pitiful film trying desperately to be a Bond film, with Dominic Cooper supposedly using this film to throw his name into the hat for the next lead.Awkward silences, cheesy dialogue and a plot twist that may be less obvious if the "mole" weren't Tom Felton aka Draco Malfoy.

dplante-26699 Great action movie - no, but a good one, after which I didn't feel as if I wasted my time. This movie reminds me a lot of a compressed season of "24", with Dominic Cooper's character analogous to Jack Bauer. Action was good, a couple of plot twists, casting was actually very good.Bad guy was very good - not an over-the-top characterization, but something more believable.The movie did play like a made-for-TV show, but not in a bad way. Less budget and special effects than a theatrical release, but still quite good. I'd watch it again.If you like "24", you'll like this.

TheLittleSongbird 'Stratton' is very like 'Eat Locals' of the films seen recently. In that the concept showed a lot of promise, that could have worked when done right, and that talented actors were on board and could have been good with the right material.Unfortunately the promise of 'Stratton's' premise is completely butchered by near-irredeemably bad execution. The cast also deserved much better than what they get here, and the performances are underwhelming nearly all round. Only some instances of slick cinematography and a fun boat chase save 'Stratton' from being worse. Oh, and Derek Jacobi, the fine actor and professional that he is, does his best with what he is given, though in a way he is wasted with an underwritten character and terrible dialogue.The rest of the cast struggle. Dominic Cooper replaced Henry Cavill, who would have been a much better choice, at short notice, and he comes over as too lightweight for a role that really does not suit him at all and looks ill at ease. Tom Felton chews the scenery to pieces, one would not think that he was a bright spot in the 'Harry Potter' films judging from his performance here. Gemma Chan is also bland.Worst of all is Connie Nielsen, who looks completely and utterly bored as a character who couldn't have been more uninteresting, one actually feels sorry for him. Furthermore, in a film full of execrable dialogue Nielsen has the duffest of the lot and it comes over loud and clear that she knows that, her English accent, which she really struggles with, is one of the worst of the past decade too. In fact, the best performance comes from Jacobi.It's not just the cast that disappoints. Everything else is bad. 'Stratton' constantly has a straight-to-video look, which it would have been if made 20-25 years ago. Especially bad is the incomprehensible editing which makes the ho-hum at best (a lot of it is actually incredibly pedestrian and has no excitement at all, apart from one and even that, while fun, is not exactly mind-blowing) action indecipherable at times.Music score is never dynamic or fitting, it even sounds cheap and like it would have been out of date even in a film from 20 plus years previously. The dialogue is execrable throughout, and the story is disjointed, dull and with no surprises at all. The characters are cardboard one-dimensional stereotypes that don't engage or relate to the audience in any way. Simon West's direction is completely devoid of tension, style or sense of pace, this is an amateur hour directing job.Overall, very poor. 2/10 (in my first truly negative lowest-rating review since 'The Emoji Movie' three weeks ago). Bethany Cox