Whenever I see the name Martin Campbell attached to a project, my interest is piqued. I’m sure I’m not in the minority. For many it’s probably because he directed what is arguably two of the best James Bond movies ever made, Goldeneye (1994) and Casino Royale (2006). Personally, for me it goes back even further than that, with him directing one of the best mini series’ ever to come out of the BBC. I’m of course talking about the classic Edge of Darkness (1985) which still ranks amongst Campbell’s finest.
Even outside of these, he has always been a solid, if somewhat workmanlike, director. To be honest, it’s that workmanlike vision that makes his films so appealing to me. He shoots his films cleanly, being more interested in the characters, and plot rather than attempting to show off some fancy visuals. This approach works particularly well when it comes to the action in his films. Usually clearly shot, with the audience easily able to follow what is unfolding on screen. One only has to watch the underrated No Escape (1994) or The Mask of Zorro (1998) to see this in effect.
Of course, he still has his stinkers lurking in his filmography. At least with Campbell it’s only really the one, but when that stinker goes by the name of Green Lantern (2011), it’s very hard to make allowances. But considering the quality of his output before this and even since I think it’s okay to cut the fella some slack.
At 81 he also shows no signs of slowing down. In the last few years he has The Protégé (2021) and Memory (2022). This brings us onto his latest venture, military based actioner Dirty Angels. Frankly, I expected a bit more fanfare around this one, being that it re-unites Campbell with his Casino Royale leading lady Eva Green. I suppose this is to be expected in this day and age, when even multi million blockbusters are released straight to streaming. At least Dirty Angels was afforded a cinema release, even if it is simultaneous with a VOD one.
After a failed mission in Afghanistan, disgraced soldier Jake (Eva Green) is tasked with going back to rescue a group of kidnapped teenage girls who are caught between the Taliban and Isis. Disguising themselves as medics, Jake and her team have to infiltrate the lair of Isis leader Amir (George Iskandar) who is holding the girls for ransom, or some for his own pleasure. Jake’s past is already linked with Amir’s, with him being part of the reason she has taken on the mission. Seriously outnumbered, Jake and her team must fight against the odds in order to rescue the girls and return them home. Â
Of course it would be silly to expect Dirty Angels to live up to what both Campbell and Green brought to the screen nearly 20 years ago with Casino Royale. Dirty Angels lacks the prestige of a Bond production, but while this may not be either of Campbell or Green’s best work, it is still a solid, if not wholly successful, action thriller.
Well initially, it’s more thriller than action/thriller to be honest. Whilst the trailers may sell Dirty Angels as a full on action movie, to begin with it is more focused on the build up and tension. In fact, after a brief firefight and a harrowing kidnapping scene, it is almost at the hour mark before we are treated to another action scene. There are several more solid set pieces afterwards that more than hold your attention, with the second half of the film definitely being more action heavy than the first.
This approach wouldn’t be an issue if the dramatic aspects were fully up to par, but this is what ultimately keeps Dirty Angels from being a classic action thriller rather than merely a solid one.
The majority of the film’s issues lay in its script, which surprisingly is the work of four different writers, with Campbell being one of them. I would have expected for so many people working on the script that the characters and plot would have more substance. Although Green’s Jake is given some depth, her co-stars making up her team aren’t afforded the same luxury, mostly being whittled down to archetypes rather than rounded individuals.
The setting of the action is certainly topical, but it’s never inherently clear what the filmmakers are trying to say above this being a simple, jingoistic actioner. Personally I don’t have an issue with that type of action movie. Some of my favorites could easily fall into this category, but with Campbell behind the lens and shooting proceedings in such a graphic way, I must say that I thought there would be more of a message built into the plot.
Even so, Campbell still manages to hold the attention, with him pulling no punches in showing the violent nature of both Isis and the Taliban. Neither are really given much in the way of nuance, just being the villains our heroes have to face off against, but you’ll probably still be glad to see them getting their comeuppance.
Campbell takes full advantage of the R rating, with his action being violent and hard hitting, if not wholly realistic. Being a Millennium production, some shoddy CGI gets in the way, with the usual culprits of fake looking digital blood and gunfire being the most prevalent although some sub par explosions also rear their head. With Millennium it’s par for the course with even their larger budgeted productions having this issue. Through the years I have come to expect this from the studio, with me learning to overlook such shortcomings.
The production is helped considerably by some quality cinematography by Campbell regular David Tattersall. This may not be the finest of his work, but Tattersall still captures some good imagery which contributes to the quality of the action. Having shot the likes of The Foreigner (2017), The Protege and Memory for Campbell, this continues a solid streak of not reaching the highs of Tattersall’s earlier work on such films as Con Air (1997) and Speed Racer (2008).
Whilst the characters are thinly drawn, the cast do well. Eva Green always goes above and beyond, with her bringing a steely determination to her role. Initially Jake is a hard character to like, with her being icily cold to most she comes into contact with. She begins to thaw as she spends time with her team and the mission gets underway. She ends up building something of a bond with the well cast Reza Brojerdi who plays the team’s driver Malik.
Green especially throws herself into the action. She gets seriously bloody and bruised through the duration of the film, getting involved in numerous violent firefights and hand to hand fight scenes. Green isn’t someone you would initially think of as an action star but she has shown her action skills previously in the likes of 300: Rise of an Empire (2014) and the more recent The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan (2023). The difference here is that Green is the focus rather than being a supporting player, with Green being a more than convincing heroine.
As mentioned, the rest of the team don’t really get much in the way of character development. Even they’re introduction is boiled down to what their character brings to the team rather than who they are. So we have the Shooter (Emily Bruni), explosive expert The Bomb (Maria Bakalova), the Geek (Jojo T. Gibbs), the Medic (Ruby Rose) and the mechanic Rocky (Rona-Lee Shimon). They are also accompanied by CIA agent Travis (Christopher Backus) who has recruited them all for the mission. Neither of them get much to play with other than contributing to the film’s action. It makes it somewhat hard to care for them when the stakes become raised, as we are never really given an opportunity to get to know them.
Even so, the performers all do well enough in their subsequent roles, bringing what personality they can to their undeveloped roles. There is still the requirement of some suspension of disbelief when you have the likes of Ruby Rose taking down men three times their size, but work hard at making this seem plausible if not totally realistic.
I have already noted several reviews online giving Dirty Angels extremely low marks, with complaints around the plot and action. I would agree that the film is not perfect but to give a film like this a 2 out 10 resting is frankly absurd. Some of these same reviewers were giving recent release Kraven the Hunter high marks, a film that this easily surpasses in nearly every regard.
Dirty Angels is in no way perfect, but it does the trick if you’re looking for a quick, well made, action fix. Martin Campbell has another female led actioner coming shortly, the Daisy Ridley vehicle Cleaner (2025) which sounds oddly reminiscent of the cancelled Jackie Chan movie Nosebleed. Perhaps Chan mentioned it to Campbell during the making of The Foreigner or maybe it is just a coincidence. Either way, I’ll be interested to see how it turns out.
Plot: 3/5
Acting: 3.5/5
Action: 3/5
Overall: 3.2/5
