Review: "Sweet Girl"

All of Jason Momoa's solo films have roughly been the same as of late. Usually a hint of revenge, a splash of family drama and ragged brooding is ever present, but the actor knows his strengths and sticks to them. It is immediately clear why not only Jason Momoa signed on as the male lead for this film, but also produced it. He always does well in action films and truly is one of the better action stars in the industry to this date, so in theory, Sweet Girl would be a success for the streaming giant in Netflix. However, Sweet Girl feels like an uneven mashup of films that came before it that director Brian Andrew Mendoza has a hard time juggling. One moment the shaky cam visceral action scenes take place that remind you of the Bourne franchise, only to then lose all momentum as it drops into a film trying to say something about pharmaceutical companies world wide. As a whole, the film tries to be too much and take influence from better revenge films that have come before it. Even more troubling, the film completely falls apart in the final act with a nonsensical plot twist that even while suspending your disbelief, is still incredibly difficult for any viewer to swallow.

The plot follows that of Ray Cooper (Jason Momoa), a devoted family man who suffers a great loss when his wife Amanda dies of cancer largely due to a corrupt pharmaceutical company, BioPrime, pulling a medicine off the shelves that could have saved her. This enrages Ray, who threatens the BioPrime CEO Simon Keeley. Ray is devastated, and in his grief he looks for ways to make BioPrime hurt, the way that they in turn hurt him and his daughter Rachel Cooper (Isabel Merced). The two take part in a journey for justice and find themselves way over their head.

The story, again, is nothing new or original but still entertaining enough with the performance given by Momoa and the action sequences throughout are all enjoyable. In the beginning, after his wife's death it is impossible not to feel something for Momoa's character as we seem him grieving in the hallways of a hospital. It is an everyday fragility that is uncommon in a massive giant like Momoa that immediately makes the viewers sympathize and care for his character, and the trauma that his young daughter will now have to endure. It's something we don't often see from the actor which made it that much more impactful. The real crime is again the story and even the pacing throughout the film. The transitions from a rough and visceral fight scene to a stern talk between father and daughter is always rough throughout this film. Momoa's Cooper goes from taking down bad guys to lecturing Merced's Rachel about doing homework.

This film also had some drama behind the scenes as the congresswoman that was played by Amy Brenneman was originally played by that of Marisa Tomei. Her scenes were unfortunately reshot long after shooting had completed as the director believed Tomei was not right for the role. Judging by the character, and the usual talents of Tomei, I could only assume that she was a bit too lighthearted or didn't carry with her a certain edge.

It's a shame that the film is poorly written and directed by first time director Brian Andrew Mendoza, as the story had potential to be an incredible resonant film, especially during a pandemic where people have endured plenty of loss. The opening sequence in particular shared that sentiment and if it managed to keep that tone and focus on the trauma of loss it could've potentially been a much more grounded and resonant film. The ending is also an incredibly difficult pill to swallow when the twist comes and can break the film for even the most casual of watchers due to how nonsensical it is. However, Sweet Girl really gets lost in the details while trying to say too much about the medicine field and politics and be far too much while criminally miring the performances of it's strong leads in the process. At it's core this is very much your typical romp starring Jason Momoa, so if you have enjoyed his usual action flicks in the past you may want to check this one out.