• Release year: 2024
• Director: Jean Luc Herbulot.
• Producers: Steven Adams, Pamela Diop, Gary Dourdan, and Hus Miller.
• Screenplay by: Hus Miller and Jean Luc Herbulot.
• Cinematography by: Grégory Turbellier.

Shotgun Commentary: nonsensical, but entertaining enough for nap time.

Review

Zero follows two American tourists in Dakar who wake up with a bomb vest on. They are also wearing an earpiece that their hijacker uses to talk to them and give them specific missions. They are promised freedom if they complete all their missions before their countdown of ten hours is over.

This movie is…not good. It’s not horrible either, it does have some interesting bits and bobs, but overall it is so ridiculous that you eventually lose interest. However, in the spirit of being more positive (one of those new year’s resolutions one makes), let’s talk about the good parts before getting into everything that doesn’t work.

Lotta charm

The highlight of the movie is, undoubtedly, its characters. You’ve got Willem Dafoe creepily whispering orders to his victims, which is always an interesting addition, but he doesn’t really have any screen time, which leaves all the visual acting to Hus Miller and Cam McHarg, Bomb #1 and Bomb #2, respectively. Miller plays a crooked accountant who spends the whole film terrified of his own shadow, while McHarg plays a veteran who will do anything to survive and doesn’t even blink at the prospect of utilising brutal violence to achieve his goal.

Their dynamic is quite fun to follow, especially when Bomb #2 gets more screen time, as he balances out the whining of Bomb #1 with great fighting scenes. Sadly, the rest of the characters are not too intriguing at all. Mostly cliché community guys, wannabe warlords, and lovers, but not a single character sparks any interest.

That is, other than the influencer ram, who is a lot of fun to watch even though he doesn’t do anything at all. When the most interesting thing about the scene is a ram that does absolutely nothing… you might want to re-check the script, no? Well, the writers on this film beg to differ, then again, they also wrote gigantic plot holes and inexplicable behaviours…

What on Earth…?

First things first, you have a bomb vest tied to you with a lock, and your reaction is to find out who may know how to deactivate the bomb and not to look for a hair clip to unlock yourself? Sure, the bomb might be tied to it, but if you see that the lock is merely holding to loops of cloth together, you might want to wonder whether it is actually unsafe to unlock or now…

Then comes the second big nonsense, if a man promises that nobody will get hurt, and then proceeds to blow up not one but three out of three connections you’ve made during your missions, maybe wonder if his initial promise regarding your life is valid at all?

But of course, the good guys need to be as dumb as the bad guys for it to be a fair fight, which would explain why the guards of a gang lair clear the Americans after patting them for weapons. So, you have touched a guy all over, yet you haven’t noticed the huge bomb vest underneath his coat? What do you think that is, perfectly rectangular abs?

Final thoughts

The absurdities keep coming throughout the film, but getting into those would come with unnecessary spoilers, so you will have to watch the film if you really want to know about those. What you can and should know is that there are also random speeches thrown in the mix for apparently no reason at all. While the commentaries themselves do have a point, they don’t really say anything new. However, the worst part of this is not the unoriginal content, it is the fact that it comes out of nowhere, making it seem more like a desperate attempt at populism than an organic critique within the narrative.

All in all, Zero has great intentions, but a pretty poor execution. The character and acting are adequate and even fun at times, but the narrative is full of plot holes. The villain’s endgame is weak at best, and the heroes’ behaviour is downright surreal. You might have a good time if you don’t think too much about it, but if you are looking for a solid story, this is not the film you’re looking for.

Advice to take from this movie:

• It’s not always about deactivating, sometimes it is about getting as far from it as possible.
• If you know someone who breaks all their promises, chances are, they will break their promises to you too.
• Don’t take drugs, much less from strangers.

What’s your take? Have you watched Zero? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀