Carter (2022)

Streaming Service: Netflix
Movie Name/Year: Carter (2022)
Genre: Action, Thriller
Length: 2h 12min
Rating: TV-MA
Production/Distribution: Apeitda, Netflix
Director: Byung-gil Jung    
Writer:  Byeong-sik Jung, Byung-gil Jung       
Actors: Joo Won, Kim Bo-Min, Sung-Jae Lee, Camilla Belle, Mike Colter
 
Blurb from IMDb: Thrown straight into a dangerous mission with none of his memories intact, a man must escape death while trying to figure out who he is, how he ended up here, and who is the mysterious voice in his ear calling him "Carter"?
 

Selina’s Point of View:
I was in my glory when I saw the trailer for Carter.
 
Korean cinema has a special place in my heart and, as an 80s baby, so do brainless action flicks. When I saw the trailer for Carter, then followed it up with the realization that a Korean director I know and like was behind it, I was excited.
 
After sitting down to watch, I’m just angry.
 
When you hear people talking about movies that are style over substance, Carter is exactly the kind of thing they’re talking about. Every shot seemed to have mountains of thought put into it, but nothing else did.
 
Now, keep in mind, I have enjoyed style over substance films before. I really enjoyed Sucker Punch (2011). But, in this case, the thought put into the cinematography for Carter was exceptionally misguided. It’s like the director decided before filming that he had to use shaky cam, and then ignored when it didn’t work.
 

Cat gets motion sickness when watching badly made shaky cam movies. About 10-minutes into Carter, I texted her to let her know I’d handle this one myself. I don’t have motion sickness from anything, but in this case the effect was nausea inducing. Even for me. I had to take regular breaks – just about every 15-minutes or so – because it was costing me my equilibrium.
 
I could have forgiven the stylistic choices if there had been any pay off. Unfortunately, there really wasn’t.
 
There were a few cool visuals, if you could focus on them long enough, but there was nothing else going for Carter. The script was bad, so was most of the acting. Even the fight choreography didn’t stand out. In fact, the final fight scene feels like it’s 20-minutes long and involves the main character doing the same thing over and over again.
 
I couldn’t figure out if I needed to vomit or go take a nap.
 
Don’t waste your time on Carter. If you’re curious about the director, Confession of Murder (2012) is streaming on Tubi, Pluto TV, and Plex.  
 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 30%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 50%
Metascore – None
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score –5.1/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 1.5/5
 
Movie Trailer: