“The Rhythm Section” should have felt like a true event. It is, after all, the first non-James Bond movie produced by Eon Productions, the team of Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who are behind the James Bond franchise, and was directed by Reed Morano, the cinematographer-turned-director behind memorable episodes of “Halt and Catch Fire,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and “Billions.” But considering its cursed production (star Blake Lively was injured and filming halted) and multiple missed release dates (beginning way back in February of last year), it’s a miracle it’s coming out at all. This one final trailer at least tries to convey what the hell the title means.
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In the film, Lively plays a woman whose parents were killed in a plane crash three years earlier. Convinced that the crash wasn’t an accident, she sets out to uncover the truth and seek revenge, falling under the tutelage of Jude Law’s character Boyd. Also Sterling K. Brown is there, which is just a gift that we don’t question (he joined the production after Lively’s injury so that’s at least one good thing to come out of it). “The Rhythm Section,” we learn in this trailer, how Law refers to Lively’s internal dynamics when in a high-stress environment: “We’ve got to get your rhythm section under control – think of your heart as the drums, your breathing as the bass …” So at least the title makes a little more sense.
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And truth be told, it does look like a sturdy little action-adventure. Lively has been one of the most perennially underrated actresses of the last few years, turning in a number of memorable performances in everything from shark thriller “The Shallows” to 2018’s weirdly underseen Paul Feig dark comedy “A Simple Favor,” so it’d be nice to see her breakout with a film franchise all her own.
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The international thriller is out everywhere on January 31.