Review of No Good Deed

A thriller movie's number one job is to be thrilling. Someone must've told the makers of NGD that passionate yelling between well-dressed yuppies on top of melodramatic score swells can pass as thrilling. Instead of excitement and scares, NGD gives us artlessly directed stiffness that only manages to be shockingly unpleasant. It's the kind of forgettable, mindless dreck that completely lacks identity or personality. Sure it's mercifully short, but it's even more mercilessly ugly. (WARNING: bad pun coming) All in all, No Good Deed has no good part. Elba plays an escaped murderer who wreaks havoc on Henson's family by tricking his way into their home. Lucky for Elba's character, there's not a single sharp knife in the drawer of characters he encounters. He uses his powers of clichéd dialogue and lazily-written coincidences to get whatever he wants, which is…unclear, to say the least. We know he's a "bad guy", but why? And what is his end goal? Motivations take a back seat in NGD, with the focus instead on predictable thriller beats, harlequin-novel style plotting, and a twist that is far from earned. Elba and Henson are both formidable screen presences, and it would normally be a gift to see them work together. Unfortunately to call their NGD characters one-dimensional is giving them one too many dimensions, unless pure sociopath and complete moron are dimensions. They're characters are purely there to force a hackneyed and dangerous message: all men are evil. Go see Guardians or Turtles again, but do all you can to stay away from this mid-budget Lifetime Channel movie.

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