TL;DR – While there is a solid narrative framework for the action, we end up with a film that has more missed opportunities than times they cut to jiggling nitro canisters.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

The Wages of Fear Review –

Today, we are looking at a remake of a classic novel and a classic film. I have not watched or read the original, but even then, their legacy looms large. Getting a second or third but at the apple can be an advantage because you have seen where things have not worked before, but then, when you are walking on the same ground as a classic, you might be lurking in dangerous territory.

So to set the scene, we open in the middle of the North African desert as pursuers ambush two cars from World Wide Heath and are just able to get into a local village before getting overrun. But a single stray bullet was enough to take out the local gas well. If the fire spreads, it will take out the entire village. They have only 24 hours to get enough nitro-glycerine to explode the gas pocket. Fred (Franck Gastambide) does not want to risk the ride through occupied territory; good thing the head of the oil company, Anne (Astrid Whettnall), had the perfect leverage, Eric (Alban Lenoir), Fred’s brother stuck in jail for a crime, Fred committed.   

While it does have a clunky start, jumping around timelines, and awkward introductions in this unnamed North African country. About halfway through, the rubber hits the road, and we get the motivation the movie desperately needs. A 24-hour countdown, a dangerous mission, two brothers that hate each other, and dire consequences if they fail. While it is a slow start, once that countdown hits, you can feel the tension at every moment when the forward momentum is stalled. However, this does mean that insert cuts of glasses jiggling make up a surprisingly long amount of the runtime.

One of the odd things is just how little an impact a lot of the action has. I am not sure if it is just because I am not used to the French style of action, but a lot of it felt floaty with no weight to it. This felt like a bit of a disappointment because there were these large set pieces that just fell flat. Some poor explosion effects did not help it in places. While the tension does help the proceedings, we get a bunch of forced drama that undercuts it. Then we have these oddly paternalistic moments, with some broad stereotypes on display and what looks like a complete lack of critical exploration of France’s role in post-colonial North Africa. This made for some unintentionally uncomfortable watching at times.    

In the end, do we recommend The Wages of Fear? Unfortunately, no, we can’t. While you had a framework for an intense movie, with that ticking clock. Nothing they did ever reached that potential. Indeed, all they did was unlock new levels of frustration with the missed opportunities. If you liked The Wages of Fear, we would recommend to you Mercenaire.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Wages of Fear
Directed by – Julien Leclercq
Screenplay by – Hamid Hlioua & Julien Leclercq
Based on – Le Salaire de la Peur by Henri-Georges Clouzot & Le Salaire de la Peur by Georges Arnaud
Music by – Éric Serra
Cinematography by – Wim Vanswijgenhoven
Edited by – Soline Guyonneau         
Production/Distribution Companies – Labyrinthe Films, TF1 Studio,
Starring – Franck Gastambide, Alban Lenoir, Sofiane Zermani & Ana Girardot with Bakary Diombera, Astrid Whettnall, Alka Matewa, Sarah Afchain & Ghita Berdai  
Rating – Australia: MA15+;