Review: Bruce Willis' New Crime Thriller Is A Total Dud
Megan Fox and Bruce Willis are at very different stages of their careers, but they’ve both become regulars on the VOD circuit over the last couple of years, so it was almost inevitable that their paths would cross eventually. Whereas the fallen A-lister has taken to showing up in as many B-tier thrillers as possible, with Midnight in the Switchgrass marking his sixth credit in the last fourteen months, Fox has been enjoying something of a resurgence.
Unfairly ostracized from the mainstream, the actress took a break from the public eye and didn’t lend her name to anything for three years after Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows was released in 2016. Fox is reinventing her reputation in the eyes of both the public and her peers, but unfortunately Midnight in the Switchgrass marks a bit of a step back.
Which is a shame, really, when she’s shown a surprising amount of range in her recent output, whether it be playing an action hero in surprisingly enjoyable action thriller Rogue, or giving arguably a career-best performance in ‘Till Death, which saw her as a disillusioned wife who wakes up handcuffed to the dead body of her husband before a mystery begins to reveal itself. That movie only released three weeks ago, but Midnight in the Switchgrass is much closer to Willis’ recent output than Fox’s.
Don’t be fooled by the marketing, though, which would have you believe the Die Hard legend plays a major supporting role. He’s only in a handful of scenes, and then abruptly f*cks off with no explanation for the majority of the running time, all while failing to pull any other facial expression than his typically bored look that makes you think he may have been replaced by a waxwork of himself without anyone noticing, such is the energy he brings to the table.
He probably only took the gig as a favor to director Randall Emmett, who makes his feature debut behind the camera after spending the bulk of his career as a prolific producer of star-powered low budget fare. The duo have collaborated on The Prince, Vice, Extraction, Precious Cargo, Marauders, First Kill, Acts of Reprisal, Trauma Center and Survive the Night, and Midnight in the Switchgrass is virtually indistinguishable from all of them.
