A One Mann’s Movies review of “Trap” (2024).
M. Night Shyamalan movies are a bit like Russian Rouletter but in reverse. For every six movies you’ll get a cracker. But the duds can be real duds. His last four films have been “Split“, “Glass“, “Old” and “Knock at the Cabin“. All of these I rated either 2.5 or 3 stars. So we were due a good one. Sadly, despite thinking the trailer had promise, “Trap” is definitely not it.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Cooper (Josh Hartnett) is the perfect dad when he recognises the exam success of his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) by taking her to a concert by the pop icon Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan). But mid-concert he finds the arena ringed by the FBI who are intent to capture ‘The Butcher’ – a notorious serial killer that they believe is attending the event.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: PG-13. (From the BBFC web site: “Strong threat, brief violence”.) This strikes me as a pretty soft ’15’… which is why it only made a PG-13 in the US. I reckon this is a borderline 12A.
Talent:
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Alison Pill, Hayley Mills, Jonathan Langdon,
Marnie McPhail, Mark Bacolcol.
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan.
Written by: M. Night Shyamalan.
Running Time: 1h 45m.
“Trap” Summary:
Positives:
- The premise of the film is pretty neat and I had high hopes for this one.
- Josh Hartnett is really pretty good here as is Ariel Donoghue who turns in a cracking little performance.
Negatives:
- Comes over as a Shyamalan vanity project.
- Spends way too long treading the same ground at the concert.
- The second act is plain bonkers with utterly implausible events.
Review of “Trap”:
Note: Viewers of this film will split into those that have seen the trailer and those that have not. This review will assume that you HAVE watched the trailer and know the premise of the film. We won’t go into specific spoilers beyond that. But if you haven’t watched the trailer and want to go in ‘cold’ then stop reading now!
Shyamalan, Shyamalan and more Shyamalan.
As always , M. Night Shyamalan, like Hitchcock, has a cameo role in the film. Unlike Hitchcock, who simply pops up briefly as an ‘extra’ in his films, Shyamalan again occupies an extended speaking role. I’m sorry, but he’s not a great actor and his involvement in the film took me right out of the plot.
Moreover, we are subjected to scene after scene of Shyamalan’s daughter Saleka doing her Lady Raven stuff. I’m not expert enough to know if her stuff (she also wrote all her songs) is any good. But either way, we have song after song rammed down our throats. In the second act, where she does get to act, Saleka actually turns in a decent performance.
(It’s been a big year for the Shyamalan brood. You’ll remember that his middle daughter Ishana directed “the film “The Watched” (aka “The Watchers”) from earlier this year.
Arena wars.
Once Cooper is aware of his predicament he obviously tries desperately to find a way out. Sadly, the script makes this all rather repetitive involving him trying an exit route, getting so far then getting blocked. Each segment is interspersed with Riley saying “you’re acting awfully odd Dad”. Rinse and repeat. It’s only occasionally that the action goes in a different – more interesting – direction, for example, with an incident in a fast-food kitchen.
The Hartnett and Donoghue show.
Josh Hartnett has had a curious career. After starring in blockbuster movies like “Pearl Harbor” and “Black Hawk Down” he all but disappeared from mainstream cinema until popping up in Guy Ritchie’s “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre” and then stepping up a gear for “Oppenheimer“. Here, although I have a lot of issues with the film, I really enjoyed Hartnett’s performance. As the psycho-in-a-family-man-body he exudes intelligence and menace.
Also really impressive is Ariel Donoghue, in only her second film, as his daughter Riley who has a really charming and natural manner as the avid fan-girl. A young lady to watch for the future.
Second act absurditites.
Once we get into the second act, the script goes all out bat-shit crazy. I can’t go into all of the reasons as they would be massive spoilers, but if you’ve seen the film (or don’t care!) then scroll to beyond the Trailer below to read my spoilerish rant!
Hayley Mills’ accent
The film features Haley Mills (Yes…. “Let’s Get Together, yeah, yeah, yeah”… that one) in the role of Dr JJosephine Grant, an FBI profiler. It’s always great to see classic actresses back on the big screen – Mills is now 78 – but her highly-cut English accent really grated on me here.
Monkeys?
There is a funny mid-credit monkey featuring T-shirt salesman Jamie (Jonathan Langdon).
Summary Thoughts on “Trap”
A mystery/thriller can only really thrill if it stays the right side of reasonable. This one had such absurd plotting that it lost all credibility with me. The illustrious Mrs Movie Man was even more scathing. “Trap… more like Crap” was her pithy summary.
The wait for a good M. Night Shyamalan release continues…..
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
Trailer for “Trap”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnIzclNaO08 .
Note: The trailer, rather surprisingly and unnecessarily, gives away the whole premise of the film, which would have been nice to discover yourself.
Spoiler Section:
Don’t read past this point if you’ve not seen the movie.
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NO, SERIOUSLY!
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So much idiocy!
So, here are some of the ludicrous aspects of the film for me in the second act. (There are probably more as I wasn’t taking notes!)
- It’s a nice – if implausible – twist that Cooper would out himself to Lady Raven, but why would she put herself in that much danger when she could yell out to all the police lines she is walking through and probably have a chance of saving Spencer (Mark Bacolcol) anyway?
- Cooper’s wife Rachel (Alison Pill) is initially portrayed as being a naive innocent who knows nothing of her husbands dark secret. But then we find out that she knew about it all the time and led the FBI to the concert! I mean, with two kids in the house, is a ‘gentle hint’ the best she could do?? Why hasn’t she rung the FBI and grassed on him?
- How did Cooper get hold of a SWAT uniform? And what did he do with the limo driver?
- How ON EARTH did Cooper get out of the limo, surrounded by screaming fans, including having time to set up a dummy of the driver on the way out? Beggars belief.
- The finale:
- Assuming Cooper’s actions were predicted by Dr Grant, as a set-up to catch him, how did he get back in the house? Was there a second tunnel??! And surely no agency would place Rachel in mortal peril like that… they would have armed officers hiding in the house to swoop in earlier.
- If not, why was Riley’s pie laced with drugs?
- Tasers? Not firearms?! Seems highly unlikely in the US!
- Do you really think arresting officers would allow Cooper to do ANYTHING while marching him between the house and the van? Not only does he bend down to pick up the bike, but they let his daughter run up and give him a hug!! Ludicrous!
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