FAST CHARLIE - Mark Reviews Movies

Fast Charlie, Vertical

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Review by Mark Dujsik | December 7, 2023

Richard Wenk's screenplay for Fast Charlie, adapted from the novel Gun Monkeys by Victor Gischler, is assembled of very familiar and equally predictable pieces. There's the movie's main character, a clean-up guy and fixer for a criminal organization (Potentially, the solely unique thing about the setup in general is that it's based in Biloxi, Mississippi, which isn't the first, second, or, likely, even 50th place one would think of when considering such an enterprise). His name's Charlie Swift (Piece Brosnan), who has the eponymous nickname because of the surname and also because he works quickly and with few to no questions.

Does Charlie become involved in a bad deal or two? Of course he does. Is he caught up in a conspiracy involving a rival gang that forces him to work out how it's all unfolding? Obviously that becomes the case. Does the professional killer have to put business aside to go on a vengeance-fueled killing spree? Are we really still asking questions such as that at this point?

The plot here is wholly, predictably routine, yet there is a spark or two of, not necessarily inspiration, but some engagement to be found within it. Part of that is the willingness of Wenk and director Phillip Noyce to embrace a few of the more eclectic ideas and characterizations in this story. Much of it comes down to the fact that the filmmakers actually seem to care about this character, what makes him tick, and an unlikely relationship that forces Charlie to reconsider the kind of life he has lived for several decades.

That last part is thanks to a character named Marcie (Morena Baccarin), whom Charlie has to find after a hit goes wrong. The describe the specifics of how the killing does go wrong would be unfair to a gruesome gag, but let's just say that Charlie's unwanted partner on the hit gets a little too creative and eager with his method for murder, leaving the corpse in need of a less-obvious form of identification.

Since Marcie is the dead guy's ex-wife, she can help with information about an identifying mark on the body, and something about the calm, cool, and to-the-point manner with which she conducts herself during the odd incident is quite appealing to Charlie. He shows up at her house again with, since taxidermy is her job and her passion, a dead raccoon he'd like stuffed. This might be the first time a potential romance in a movie begins with a gift of roadkill, but either way, one has to admire the gumption of the filmmakers to do it anyway and, because the whole situation between the two is already so weird, somehow make it seem authentic to who these characters are.

Everything surrounding that relationship is much more straightforward, which is too bad, given how instantly strange the could-be couple's bond becomes. Charlie works for and tends to Stan (the late James Caan), a crime boss who has dementia, and out of New Orleans comes Beggar (Gbenga Akinnagbe), an upstart gang leader who wants to expand his business and spots the weakness at the top of Charlie's crew. We barely meet those others, by way of some narration from Charlie that doesn't have too much to say beyond what's apparent on screen, before they're all dead—killed by Beggar and his gang.

Charlie survives (thanks to a home security system, which is a somewhat clever touch), but instead of leaving town, he decides to seek vengeance against Beggar and anyone with the misfortune of being connected to him. Yes, it really is that formulaic.

Despite that, there's Brosnan, who could play a role like this in his sleep but, instead, is fully committed to it (beyond the shaky Southern drawl) and lets his natural charisma fill in the many gaps of this character. There isn't much to Charlie, of course, except that he shoots immediately and asks questions of his bleeding target—if he bothers to ask any at all. He's fiercely loyal to Stan, because the old man once believed he was more than he thought and became more of a father to Charlie than his actual one. Oh, he also loves Italian food and culture, and if Charlie could dream of a life after his murderous career, it would be to move to Italy, buy a fixer-upper, and retire in comfort.

What else is there to say, really? Noyce ensures the action is at least fast (appropriately), brutal, and staged with some consideration, so the movie's routine mode of operation is mildly entertaining in that regard. There's not much to the villains, save for a man known only as "the Freak" (Christopher Matthew Cook), who gives Charlie a run for his life through a hotel and favors root beer.

Still, there's something to how oddly sincere and sincerely odd the relationship between Charlie and Marcie becomes. Baccarin plays the role tough and quirky enough to make us think she'd be drawn to Charlie and that he'd consider giving up all of it for someone like her.

Fast Charlie is still too caught up in the usual revenge and mystery aspects of its story to really allow that bond to develop with much depth. The fact that Brosnan and Baccarin make us believe these weird characters and their equally strange relationship, though, makes the material feel less routine than it could have been.

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