Supremacy

When i hear the word justice, i wish to think that it means that ordinary citizens should be protected by laws. Unfortunately, that is not the case, very often. Too many criminals get away with horrible crimes, and don´t get the punishment they deserve. I want to belive that there is justice, so anyone who becomes a victim of crime can get the support they need. If we take a look at Sweden, i can tell you that our laws are way too nice. If you murder someone, well, they might get 5 years, or maybe less. They might even be out in 3 years. Am i serious ? Yes, our law system is not good here. I would imagine that several other countries are much more strict and make sure criminals get their punishment. Of course there are murderers who sit longer in prison here, but some of them is out on the streets way to soon. I belive that we need strict laws, and more support for victims, so justice is done in a better way than how it is at this moment. When it comes to motion pictures, taking on criminal stories, we have a hell of a lot of titles out there to choose between. Gangsters, drug lords, robbers, killers, the list never ends. Since there are so many films out there, only a few of them feel interesting. That would be if there is something different about a certain story, that makes it fascinating. American Gangster is one of those films i highly recommend, and of course we can not forget Donnie Brasco. Recently i did write a review on the australian criminal film Son Of A Gun, a film that managed to deliver a solid story and great performances. Supremacy is a film i actually discovered by accident, while renting some films at Hemmakväll, a swedish video rent store chain all across Sweden. I recoginzed 2 names on the cast list, Joe Anderson and Danny Glover. Not knowing if this would be any good, i decided to give it a chance. Is this a surprisingly good criminal film, or is this another one of those straight to dvd releases with nothing to offer at all ?

Supremacist Garret Tully ( Joe Anderson ) is just released from prison, as his girlfriend Doreen ( Dawn Olivieri ) picks him up. Garret start to plan his next move already, but things change very quickly that night. When a police officer ask them to stop their car, so he can see Doreen´s driver license, Garret kills the cop brutally. The situation have just turned extremely bad, since Garret have only been out of prison for a few hours. They escape on foot, trying to find a loctaion to hide. As they arrive at a big house, they break in and find a whole family living there. The father Mr. Walker ( Danny Glover ) and his wife with 3 kids, are shocked. Walker tell everyone that the best thing they can do is follow orders, so no one will be harmed. Doreen have an idea, she have a phone number to a friend who can help them out of bad situations, so she decide to give him a call. Garret is not sure about this, he feels that they can take care of the situation themselves. While Garrett is trying to figure out how they can continue their lives from this moment, he realise that this might be more complicated than expected.

I had no idea what to expect when i picked up Supremacy, not knowing much at all about this film. And maybe that was a good idea, trying not to find out the plot. Because here we have a small film, on a limited budget, that actually deliver a surprisingly effective thriller. You could say that on one half, there is a story on racism, and on the other half there is a story on people handling an awful situation. I am very happy to see Danny Glover, doing a much better performance than most of his releases over the years. This was exactly what he needed, because he can be a good actor. He is nowhere close as his earlier classic films from the 80´s and 90´s, but this proves that he might choose some better characters in the future. The strongest performance is without a doubt from lead actor Joe Anderson. I have seen him do good performances in the past, in such films as The Grey and in the latest adaptation of Hercules, with Dwayne " The Rock " Johnson. The difference from these films, is that he tries to show us a human life, with no hope, or with no future plans. He is stuck inside his criminal world, where he belive he knows what is right and wrong. A powerful performance indeed, and maybe the biggest strength of Supremacy. The story of 2 criminals taking over a house may not be original at all, and that is ok. Because there is plenty to be said with this film, both from a criminal perspective, and from a victim perspective. Director Deon Taylor have directed both films and tv series, i mostly remember his film 7eventy 5ive, with Rutger Hauer in 2007. This could be hist best film so far, as an director. Supremacy is a film with more quality than expected, with acting better than expected. The plot is not very effective, it is the acting and the way director Deon Taylor try and dig deep into emotions that works so well. If you want to see something cozy, next to your fresh brewed coffee and a blanket, Supremacy will do the job just fine. Nice to see that there is still hope for the thriller genre, i will look forward to the upcoming films of director Deon Taylor. If he can deliver here, i am sure he can continue to deliver with his next project.

Rating: DDD