Hot Seat movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Hot Seat

This suspenseful movie from Lionsgate is available in select theaters, on digital, and Video on Demand on July 1, 2022.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour 44 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: C-

IN A NUTSHELL:

The low-budget cyber-thriller is directed and produced by James Cullen Bressack. The movie is based on a story by Leon Langford and Collin Watts.

The story is about an ex-hacker who is forced to break into high-level banking institutions by an anonymous villain. The cops and bomb squad must try to penetrate the booby-trapped building to get the IT expert off the hot seat.

THINGS I LIKED:

Mel Gibson’s involvement in this movie is why most people will be intrigued. He’s always a pleasant addition, and he certainly elevates the stature of this movie. I’ve been a fan for years. He even has some funny lines in the movie to add some comic relief.
Other cast members include Kevin Dillon, Michael Welch, Sam Asghari, and Eddie Steeples. I really enjoyed seeing Shannen Doherty too, especially since she has been going through cancer treatments. I thought she did a good, believable job, and I wish her health and happiness.
I’ve always liked single-location movies.
Fun fact #1: They shot the movie in only 7 days.
Fun fact #2: Kevin Dillon admits he’s terrible with computers and that they had an IT expert on set who was available to answer questions.
It’s hard to think watching a man typing on a computer frantically would actually be interesting or cause enough tension and suspense, but it works well at times.
Sleight of hand is mentioned early in the story and then demonstrated in several ways in the plot. The plot features a mystery of who the bad guy is.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t fully utilize the talented Mel Gibson. Like Bruce Willis and Liam Neeson, I worry that more and more of these movie stars who were hot in the 80’s, and ’90s are now just cashing their name in for small roles in mediocre movies.
There are quite a few bad acting moments. Most of that can be contributed to a cliched script.
The granny voice sounded like a cartoon voice.
A lot of details are wrong or missing.
People’s reactions to events seem off. For example, if you were on a morning jog and saw a bomb go off near your neighborhood, would you just shrug and keep going? Would you still go to work if it were your day off and your daughter’s birthday? There didn’t seem to be urgency for him to actually be in the office.
Very little character development.