LONDON CALLING

London Calling effortlessly blends together big action, buddy comedy hilarity and a coming of age story to create a sure fire entertaining film carried from start to finish by the dynamic pairing of Josh Duhamel and Jeremy Ray Taylor.

Canadian writer and director Allan Ungar is perhaps best known for his unofficial Uncharted short film starring Nathan Fillion, but three years ago he released a great Canadian crime thriller that many audiences sadly missed out on: Bandit. Telling the story of legendary Canadian bank robber Gilbert Galavan Jr, portrayed by Josh Duhamel in a career best performance, Ungar delivered an exciting combination of heist sequences, hilarious moments (largely due to the many disguises worn by Galavan Jr), and emotional stakes, and he has done that again in his newest film. Reuniting with Duhamel, Ungar’s latest film is a callback to the action buddy film with an undeniable heart that allows the film to have both its exciting set pieces and gritty settings as well as a heartwarming coming of age story around found family that makes London Calling a true winner.

Narratively, London Calling dips its toes into lots of different genres with this story of Tommy, a down on his luck hitman, trying to make his way back home. Being tasked to look after his criminal boss’s son and try to make him turn him into a man, the story naturally lends itself to some great buddy comedy moments as Tommy and Julian clash over their different life styles, skills and moral compasses with Julian's resistance to killing. But the film finds its heart in the relationship between these two characters, as it quietly but quickly grows into something far more meaningful than babysitter and child. Each character finds what they are missing in their life in the other, Tommy a surrogate for the son he was forced to leave behind in London, and Julian the father figure that his father was not able to be for him, and it allows both characters to evolve into something more than who they were when the audience first met them. It’s this blossoming relationship that eclipses the showier comedy and action elements of the film, giving London Calling an honesty that keeps the audience engaged throughout its entire runtime. Balancing the entertainment and the character development within the writing, Ungar and his co-writers blend together the 80s action buddy flick with the heart of an Amblin film, resulting in a story that is destined to resonate with all viewers.

With the relationship between Tommy and Julian being the focus of the film, the performances of Duhamel and Taylor drive the entire film, and they are both great. Duhamel, mixing that rugged action star we have seen from him before with this father willing to go to any length to reunite with his son, brings a magnetic presence to the film that lights up the screen as he takes out his targets, finding the right balance between the script’s comedic moments and a dangerous hitman. Taylor easily slips into the role of Julian, the socially awkward nerdy teenager wanting to become his own man, finding a boyish charm and vulnerability that makes Julian a character that the audience instantly cares for.

But it is the dynamic that Duhamel and Taylor create as a pairing that is where both of their performances shine. While it starts off a little crass as Tommy feels burdened by having to babysit his boss’s son, there is a carefree sense of fun that develops as their characters find what they have been missing in each other. This energy between them transcends the performance as you can see the real life fun that Duhamel and Taylor had filming their scenes together, which truly brings the film to life. In doing so, a bond forms between Duhamel and Taylor on screen that creates the central surrogate father-son relationship, allowing them to move their characters beyond the stereotypical caricatures that they started as, that within the hands of the wrong actors would not progress past this despite the film’s strong writing.

While the heart of the film is found in the relationship between Tommy and Julian, the hitman element of the story provides some great action set pieces throughout the film. The stunt work is impressive, Alexander Chinnici’s cinematography captures all of the excitement with a slick polish that lets the high stakes situations pop off the screen while highlighting the practical effects work, and the editing keeps the energy high throughout these sequences. While the action set pieces are not the most jaw dropping you will see on the big screen this year, Ungar directs each of them with a great eye for making them a large spectacle, at the same time as infusing them with the heart and humour present in the film’s script, ensuring that every single set pieces not only entertains and thrills, but furthers the endearing story at the centre of London Calling to ensure that it is an absolute crowd pleaser from start to finish.

Continuing to prove himself a formidable director and cementing a new dynamic duo with his collaborations with Josh Duhamel, Allan Ungar delivers another crowd pleasing film with London Calling. Laying the ground work with a strong direction and a great story that balances the darker criminal world with an endearing friendship to ground the entire film, Josh Duhamel and Jeremy Ray Taylor shine from start to finish in London Calling that not only delivers a wildly entertaining film on all fronts, but under the careful direction and writing of Allan Ungar, an emotionally resonant experience that is going to connect with all viewers.