Badh (2025)

Mediocre action thriller. The story is very predictable and also features several plot holes. The execution is quite average and without surprises. It borrows a bit from various genre peers like Bourne and Salt. The first part of the film is the strongest. There is still some tension and the action looks professional. The final part is somewhat weaker and feels a bit rushed. The running time is nice and short, making the film easy to watch. Vacth delivers a believable and cool performance. Visually, the film is mixed, featuring beautiful shots from Morocco on the one hand and a sometimes distracting shaky cam on the other. 3.0

Translated from Dutch · View original

Only in the last minute or so does it all come together, and then the film is suddenly brilliant—then the story makes sense, the visuals make sense, then there is a song that cuts through your soul. It is a shame that the build-up, which spans far too many minutes, does not reach the same level, tries too hard, attempts to be a hodgepodge of John le Carre and Jeanne Bon, and fails to make any impact whatsoever.

It should be an exercise for film school—take the last two minutes of the film, and come up with a fascinating, exciting, compelling, and relevant story that leads to that ending. And then make a film out of it. Had the filmmakers done that exercise, understood it, and learned from it, this film could have won all the awards.

It is not Marine Vacth's fault; she does what the direction and the role ask of her, and more. How long has it been since she was jeune en jolie? Not that long, and all the harsh criticism has apparently not fallen off her graceful shoulders. How well she portrays this role, and how unfortunate it is that she was not allowed to play it in a better production.

Translated from Dutch · View original