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The 355 Review

By Matthew Passantino

January has long held the reputation of being a cinematic dumping ground, where movies that the studios don't know what to do with go to be forgotten. That's often been proven true over the years, but a slightly more positive spin on that notion could be that it's a period of decompression (all of this is based on the release strategies of the Before Times). Coming out of the fall and early winter months when distributors are putting out their Very Serious Oscar contenders, January provides a time, especially for those who cover movies, to sit back with something disposable and forgettable - typically an action or horror flick. Enter "The 355," the new action picture from director Simon Kinberg ("X-Men: Dark Phoenix").

"The 355" was announced at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, when star Jessica Chastain was photographed walking with soon-to-be co-stars Lupita Nyong'o, Penelope Cruz, Fan Bingbing, and Marion Cotillard (who later dropped out of the project). The movie was sold on the market at the prestigious film festival, giving all of the stars a stake in the production. Four years and one pandemic later, the movie is finally hitting theaters.

As far January palate cleansers go, "The 355" doesn't really offer the exciting thrills people might seek after months of serious dramas. There's plenty of action and the cast is the obvious draw, but there's a distinct sense of disengagement with this by-the-numbers thriller that doesn't match the hype that was born out of a Cannes bidding war.

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Chastain stars as Mace, a tough CIA agent who plays by her own rules, goes on a mission with her partner Nick (Sebastian Stan). When their mission goes awry, Mace is forced to go on a globetrotting mission of her own, where she eventually teams up with Khadijah (Nyong'o), Marie (Diane Kruger) and Graciela (Cruz). Their goal is to keep a high-tech weapon ("The drive! We must get the drive!" It's always about a drive) out of the hands of the wrong people. This causes them to cross paths with Bingbing's Lin Mi Sheng.

The problem with "The 355" is that it plays a game of generic action thriller bingo and scores a full card. Every step of the movie feels as obvious as the next, which would be less visible if any of the action was compelling. Kinsberg, whose "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" was hated by most but not here, doesn't have a strong sense of staging a fight scene. An "X-Men" film is a feat of computer ingenuity, but "The 355" requires a filmmaker with an eye for choreography and urgency, which is lacking in almost every frame in his latest.

Chastain has been the face of this project, despite the wonderful and equally talented cast, which brings up the interesting topic of her career trajectory. As of late she has gravitated towards genre films, which isn't a problem, but the projects she picks have not been connecting in any memorable way. She's currently in the midst of an Oscar campaign for her performance in "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," and there will be headlines about this movie distracting from her awards chances. That would be giving "The 355" too much credit.

What did you think?

Movie title The 355
Release year 2022
MPAA Rating PG-13
Our rating
Summary The new year is off to a rocky start at the movies with this new generic action-thriller.
View all articles by Matthew Passantino
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