Black Rose Review: Miu Le, Lanh Thanh’s Revenge Thriller is Rather Annoying

– No Spoilers –

Vietnamese movie Black Rose is pretty straightforward about what it is – a revenge thriller. From the first minute the movie starts, it makes it clear that it’s not trying to be anything other than Thao My’s revenge against her employer Ha’s family. There are a lot of moving parts in the film, with Ha’s husband Son vying for the CEO position and failing in front of his much more successful sister Nhu.

Of course he feels bested and this gives birth to his inferiority complex, but he is always shown as a faithful husband to his wife. Thus, when he suddenly (and I mean SUDDENLY) starts to fantasise about My, it feels a little disconnected. On that topic, My also doesn’t do much other than bat her eyelashes a few times so I was constantly left to wonder why Son suddenly shifted gears except, of course, because the script needed him to cheat.

Then there’s My’s friend Hoang who sniffs around My the moment he locks eyes with her and his typical creepy behaviour is a little boring and unnecessary, to say the least. His character isn’t interesting enough for him to get the amount of runtime that he ends up getting. Of course, My is using Hoang for personal gains, but honestly, that storyline is so half-baked that you lose interest in their conversations after a bit. Hoang’s character is also really weird and his logic is too unnatural to be taken seriously.

The movie takes too long to get to the point although, surprisingly, the movie’s events play out at a rapid pace. Things keep on happening one after another but something just doesn’t fit. The thrilling plot that you’d expect from an erotic revenge thriller doesn’t stick because there is literally nothing new or innovative in the plot and, on top of that, it’s not made well either. The music is rather odd and uneven and sometimes gives the feeling of a fun time even during serious moments.

For audiences who want silly drama, I think Black Rose makes for a stupid and mindless watch. Whatever little logic the movie has at the beginning, slowly gets thrown out of the window as the end slowly approaches. It’s one stupid decision after another with no clear goal of why something is getting added. It’s weird that the movie just throws in anything and everything, with character arcs not getting enough attention and some plot points not getting picked up after being introduced.

The huge plot holes and uneven direction and pacing are what, in the end, result in the movie becoming more and more confusing. I think having one thread and focusing on it would’ve given the movie a proper direction and a tighter script that would bring out more thrill and excitement of the chase. That part is missing for a little bit because you know from the start where the movie is going and, in the end, it goes off the rails altogether. Plus, the runtime is too long for this generic stupidity.

Black Rose Review: Conclusion

Boring, stupid and inconsistent, Black Rose is a revenge thriller that had potential but squandered it all in exchange for nothing interesting or thrilling. In spite of believable performances that will make you root for the characters at times, it squanders any and all intrigue for some cheap and uninteresting thrills.

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