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Nightfire Review
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Lorenzo Pisoni– Agent Carter
Dylan Baker– Olivetti
Greg Hadley– Agent Ross
Bradley Stryker– George Williams
Francesco Pannofino– Comandante Renati
(check out the rest of the cast here)
Directed by Brando Benetton
Screenplay by Los Silva and Brando Benetton, based on a story by Brando Benetton
Distributed by Hewes Pictures
Check it out here.
Nightfire, directed and co-written by Brando Benetton, is a new short film currently available to watch on Amazon Prime. Clocking in at 43 minutes, it manages to tell an intriguing, action packed spy story chock full of twists and turns that, for the most part, pay off. I’m hoping that this short film is the first in a series because I absolutely want to see more in this cinematic world.
Nightfire stars Lorenzo Pisoni as Agent Carter, a badass American secret agent who, alongside fellow badass agent Ross (Greg Hadley), infiltrate a Ukrainian military base to retrieve a microchip that is inside of a person for some reason. After taking out multiple Ukrainian soldiers and whatnot, Carter and Ross pick up the microchip and leave the base. Before they leave the base, though, Carter rescues Olivetti (the Dylan Baker), an Italian prisoner on the base. Ross is pissed about the rescue because that wasn’t a part of the mission, but Carter felt he had to help Olivetti. Carter just couldn’t leave the man behind.
So Carter and Ross, along with Olivetti, head to the U.S. embassy in Italy to confer with George Williams (Bradley Stryker), a prominent U.S. government official who is in the area to handle a big hooha international deal between the United States and Ukraine. Essentially, the U.S. government is in the middle of purchasing Ukraine in order to assure its security in the world (or something. I’m not entirely sure what the heck is going on here with this. I know that the U.S. is buying Ukraine, but the specific why and all that is either unclear or I just don’t understand it. It could be either or). During their in-person after action report, Williams reveals that there will be no official report regarding the mission Carter and Ross completed. Ross really doesn’t care (he seems to operate more as a mercenary than anything else) but Carter wants to know why this mission is now deemed “off the books” when it was “on the books” when they did it. And what’s the deal with the microchip? What’s on it? Why was the microchip so damn important?
Carter decides to sneak into Williams’s office late at night and break into his computer to find out what the hell is really going on. Just before he finds out, Williams catches Carter and tells him that he has to go back to the United States immediately (Carter is being kicked out of the agency/service/whatever). Carter doesn’t want to go without finding out the truth, so he escapes and decides to stay in country so he can figure it all out.
And it’s at that moment that the hooey hits the fan and we find out what’s really going on. I won’t say what happens here but I will say that I wasn’t expecting it. It makes sense, but, again, I didn’t see it coming.
The opening action scene is exciting and well done. We’ve all no doubt seen secret agents infiltrating military bases in movies a million times so what we see isn’t anything new, but the sequence is well done and exciting. The movie drags a bit as the Ukraine plot is established and Carter decides to disobey orders and find out what’s really going on, but the movie ramps up again for a breakneck final third. There’s a great car chase sequence, a terrific stunt where a guy jumps onto the hood of a police car, and a pretty cool motorcycle accident. Would these sequences have played better if they were bigger and louder and featured more police and people? Absolutely. But the stunt work here looks great and complicated enough.
The sound is the movie’s biggest drawback. The guns just aren’t loud enough. It’s one thing if characters are using silencers; if they are you don’t expect to hear much in the way of gunfire carnage. The aftermath, yes, but you don’t expect to hear the act of firing the gun. If there are no silencers, though, and all you hear are pops, that’s just not exciting enough. You want to hear goddamn loud gunshots. They will make you sit up and take notice.
The specifics of the plot could be clearer. How, exactly, did the United States negotiate a deal to buy Ukraine? That could be an entire movie on its own. And I’m still not entirely sure who George Williams is. Is he a U.S. ambassador? Is he a U.S. Senator? How is he in charge of this Ukrainian thing?
Director Bemetton makes the most of what he has to work with and does a fantastic job. I’d love to see him do a feature length action thriller of some sort, one with a larger scope and a bigger budget, just to see if he can ramp up the spectacle like I think he can.
Lorenzo Pisoni does a great job as Agent Carter. On the surface, he seems a little too straight laced and “good” for the kind of nasty work he’s called on to do, but he’s above all else a man of honor and what’s wrong with that? Pisoni handles the action and fight scenes well, and, if he wants to, he could have a nice career as an action star. Greg Hadley’s Agent Ross is probably more fun to play because he’s kind of a dick and he’s all about the money (Hadley plays the part to perfection), but it takes real skill and integrity to be a real deal good guy through and through.
Dylan Baker is fabulous as Olivetti. Baker’s Italian accent is kind of weird and inconsistent, but for some reason that makes Olivetti more interesting. Because, really, is he Italian? Is this all an act for some other purpose? Baker does a fine job being lame and then changing it all up when the story requires it. I think you’ll be surprised by what happens to Olivetti.
I liked Nightfire quite a bit. It’s exciting, well-made, and chock full of surprises. Hopefully, it’s the first of many Agent Carter adventures. I think the world would be a much better place with more Agent Carter adventures.
See Nightfire. See it, see it, see it.
So what do we have here?
Dead bodies: At least 10.
Explosions: A few.
Nudity? None.
Doobage: American agents infiltrating a military base, wrist cutting, explosives everywhere, multiple gun battles, multiple grenade explosions, slow motion punch to the face, a guy is monkey flipped into a pool, rocket launcher attack, zip line hooey, exploding guard tower, tunnels, a facial I.D. machine, a very cool opening theme and opening titles sequence, coin flipping, booze drinking, microchip hooey, cynicism, office infiltration, phone stealing, attempted smiling, terrorists, exploding gate, neck breaking, bullet to the throat, motorcycle hooey, a car chase, a nifty stunt where a guy jumps onto the front of a police car, motorcycle accident, helmet throwing, attempted roadblock, bullet to the chest, shotgun hooey, exploding car, a police interrogation, a letter, and a flashback that sort of explains what’s going on.
Kim Richards?: None.
Gratuitous: Ukraine, Dylan Baker, “Oh say you can see,” people trying to speak Italian, BBC World News, rubbing a pencil on a piece of paper in order to retrieve a password that was written on a piece of paper that removed from the pad, escaping, a twist, exploding car, and a flashback that sort of explains what’s going on.
Best lines: “If you leave me here I die,” “So much for a quiet exit,” “Hey, Pavarotti! Shut up!,” “Hey, Papa John! I fight for my country because it pays well!,” “Good luck charm?,” “By the way, the next time I ask you to do something quietly, please, do it quietly,” “Hey, Carter? Yeah. The orders? They’re always dirty. We just choose not to admit it,” “Don’t give us any problems!,” “Is that you, Agent Carter?,” “It is time for Agent Carter to die!,” and “Who killed Agent Carter? That’s classified.”
