The Doorman

Sole survivor from a terrorist ambush where her asset is killed, marine Ali as played by Ruby Rose, returns to New York, disillusioned but in need of another job. When her uncle Pat finds her a position as a doorman in a hotel undergoing renovations, it would seem that her violent past is finally behind her. However, when Jean Reno’s Victor Dubois attacks the hotel in search of priceless art, Ali must try again and protect all of those under her charge.

…so achingly wants to emulate the early, frantic films of Luc Besson.

Director Ryuhei Kitamura’s The Doorman is a mess. There you go. No build-up, no preamble, no tension leading to an eventual reveal of substance – it’s a formulaic Die Hard rip-off with a smattering of decent casting. Trapped inside this collapsing house of cards is former Batwoman Ruby Rose and Léon, The Professional‘s Jean Reno. Moving on from its film’s opening scene, Rose’s character gets thinner and thinner brushes of detail to work with as the narrative steamrollers its way towards its central premise. Arriving in the slightly elderly deportment of Jean Reno and his violent gang of art thieves, Reeno gets the best of the film’s lines although not much space in which to take them.

As a result, with the actors hung out to dry by their dripping roles, the movie’s paint by numbers plot doesn’t offer much tension. A marine suffering PTSD must fight off thugs, rescue children, stuff the patriarchy and heal both herself and her distant family whilst killing off all the bad guys. Sadly devoid of the wit or panache that still makes the original Die Hard a viable re-visit, The Doorman shuts the door in its own face with poorly-lit fight sequences, much grunting and rapid-cut editing, all of which leaves this terror by template where it should be – at the bottom of your consideration list.

Like a film that so achingly wants to emulate the early, frantic films of Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita and Léon etc.) sadly even the talismanic presence of Jean Reno will Transporter this film into that desired reality. Seriously, check out before you even check-in into this one.