REVIEW: First Kill - Starring Hayden Christensen and Bruce Willis

First Kill is Released on DVD on September 25, 2017

Synopsis
Action thriller directed by Steven C. Miller and starring Bruce Willis and Hayden Christensen. After his young son Danny (Ty Shelton) experiences bullying at school, Will (Christensen) decides to take his son and his wife Laura (Megan Leonard) to his hometown for a family bonding experience. When Will decides to take Danny on a hunt however, his young son ends up being kidnapped. Will needs the help of local sheriff Howell (Willis) to rescue him but Howell is sceptical of the situation and Will's part in it.

Review by Jon Donnis
First Kill is the latest film to star Hollywood Star Bruce Willis, however do not mistake this for anything more than a Hayden Christensen film. Hayden Christensen takes the lead and Bruce Willis is very much a secondary character, but please do not let that put you off. This is a great film.

The story is pretty simple Will (Hayden Christensen) decides to take his son Danny on a hunting trip to give him confidence after he is bullied at school. Everything is going fine until they witness an attempted murder in the woods, and before you know it Danny (Ty Shelton) find himself kidnapped. What follows next is Will doing whatever it takes to get his son back.

After a slowish start, the action picks up after about 20 minutes, and from then till the end it is all very tense and very action packed. Everyone and their granny will spot the twist a mile away, but that never stops the film being very enjoyable. And there is some interesting dynamics which seemed quite original.

This film really shows Hayden Christensen at his very best, and although at times it seems that Bruce Willis is just going through the motions, he does his job perfectly fine.

It is also worth noting that Danny (Ty Shelton) has to be one of the very very few likeable child actors out there. He plays his part perfectly, and unlike so many young actors who over do it, I never once felt like I wanted him to come to any harm by the kidnapper. So rare these days for a truly likeable young character in a film.

Perfect Saturday night viewing. I watched the film from start to finish and after the first 20 minutes had passed, I never checked my phone, or looked away once. And in this day and age a film that can keep my attention is a film I can recommend.

8/10

Review by Jon Donnis

You can buy First Kill from Amazon UK using the following link that opens in a new window.
First Kill [DVD]