O Pacto

After his wife (January Jones) is assaulted, a husband (Nic Cage) enlists the services of a vigilante group to help him settle the score. Then he discovers they want a "favor" from him in return.

This is neither Cage's best film or his worst. It is also not his best hair, or his worst. In fact, I may have to give Cage some credit... his acting was far better than this film ended up calling for.

Not that the movie is all bad. Had it been a novel, it would have been a best-selling thriller. But it sort of crumbles as a film for one reason: plot holes. Simon and his cronies are just too powerful, know too much, too soon. It is not adequately explained, and the logical answers that the audience might dream up without evidence only leads to an even wilder conspiracy... in short, try not to think too much while watching this.

The action is good, the humor is decent, and the suspense is top notch -- it is the most tension you will ever feel while watching a man buy a candy bar. But it just does not add up. Good acting, good action and suspense do not make a movie if the story itself is not complete. In short, this film's biggest problem is the lack of a script doctor. A few tweaks, a tightening of events, this could have been a blockbuster and demanded a franchise or sequel.