Mom's Minute

Introduction to The 2nd Movie Netflix Review

The 2nd movie appeared on my suggested movie list from Netflix so I decided to watch it. Was this movie worth my time and my Netflix subscription money? Will it be worth yours if you have not already seen it? Check out my movie review of The 2nd to find out.

Plot of The 2nd Movie

The plot of The 2nd movie centers around the kidnapping of a politician’s college student daughter in order to blackmail him to vote a certain way for a political issue. The kidnapping theme is a familiar plot of numerous movies but at least the reason for the kidnapping was different. A plus to watch this movie is to see how the kidnapping is going to unfold and how the kidnapped person is going to be saved or escape.  A negative is the movie, unfortunately is predictable with no suspense to speak of.

Actors in The 2nd Movie

Did you know that Netflix has a new drama series, The Big Sky, that stars the main character in this movie, Ryan Phillippe?  I have not watched the series, but found out by Googling Ryan Phillippe's name that he has had major acting roles in the past in additon to starring in The Big Sky.

That being said, I did not know who he was initially, but thought that he did not quite, in my opinion, fit the image of an action hero character. I may get some criticisms for my opinion here, but I saw him more of a lifeguard sort of guy who hung out at the beach or near the surf. In fact, if the actor who played his son was a little older, I think he probably could have been cast more fittingly as the action hero instead of Ryan Phillippe.

Acting Abilities of Ryan Phillippe as an Action Star

To stay on the mis-casting of Ryan Phillipe as an action movie star soap box --  in looking back on the movie, he appeared to be anxious and scared instead of strong, heroic and brave. Even though he took the first steps to try to apprehend the kidnappers and save the daughter, I think he looked weak and timid in doing so. Therefore, from the start, it was difficult for me to believe the movie storyline of him coming in to save the daughter because he simply in my mind did not fit the mold of an action movie star hero.

Unrealistic Situations in The 2nd Movie

I’m aware that The 2nd film is afterall a movie with a made up storyline, but the actions within the film seemed overly contrived. For example, there were numerous situations that did not pan out in the movie and did not make sense to me. The recurring situation was the ability of some of the villains to almost be destroyed to a pulp, and miraculously, in the next instance, you will see them reappear in another fight scene almost totally unscathed. This scenario happened at least twice in the movie.

Another unrealistic situation happened when the janitor had the daughter and her friend cornered in a room which to me indicated that for all intents and purposes, they were captured. Instead of letting the lead kidnapper know they were secured in a room --  for some reason, he just turned around and exited the room, leaving them there unguarded and unrestrained.  As expected, this gave them the opportunity to escape again. There were other situations in this movie as well that did not quite add up. You will know what I’m talking about if you watch the movie, The 2nd.

My Pet Peeve of The 2nd and Other Similar Type Movies

What is becoming my pet peeve in these kidnapping movies is how easily someone who is tied up can wiggle themselves free. This happened recently in some of the other similar movies I’ve watched.  My advice is instead of giving the kidnapped victims an easy way to free themselves from being tied up, maybe the writers can devise another way for them to escape, i.e., possibly keeping the rope tied around their hands as they try to run away or something else. In other words, the rope escaping scenes are becoming old.

Assessment of The 2nd Movie

There are a few positives about the movie that may interest you. For instance, there are plenty of fist fights if you are a fan of those and a few explosions as well.  Other than that, this movie was basically your run of the mill action film.  

Unfortunately, I’m unable to recommend you watch this movie unless of course, you have nothing better to do. If you are wondering why the movie is called The 2nd, I have my own analogy. It is called by this name, because, in my opinion, the movie is a second rate movie that should have gone straight to the trash bin instead of straight to video. To  answer the question of if the movie The 2nd was worth my time and money, my response is a resounding no.

Rating of The 2nd Movie

Based on a rating of 1 star to 5 stars with 5 stars being the highest, I rate The 2nd movie 1 ½ stars.