“Knightfall” Is a Throwback to the Video-Store Action Era

“Knightfall” Is a Throwback to the Video-Store Action Era

Growing up in the eighties and early nineties, I can remember going to the video store and seeing direct-to-video titles with a familiar last name like Swayze, McQueen, or Stallone splashed across the box. It was often a clever marketing gimmick: the star was usually a less-famous relative of an A-lister, and the recognizable surname was enough to make you take a second look.

Geoffrey Moore, son of Bond legend Roger Moore, is the latest actor to fall into that category as he headlines “Knightfall,” an old-school British action thriller from Saban Films. Directed by Ben Fortune, the film centers on Charles Knight (Ian Ogilvy), an infamous former spy catcher forced back into action when his estranged daughter Ros (Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott), an MI5 weapons technician, becomes the target of dangerous operatives. Ros possesses the key to a stolen briefcase containing a man-made biological weapon, leaving father and daughter little choice but to repair their fractured relationship while attempting to stop a homeland security catastrophe.

Despite Moore’s name providing the most obvious marketing hook, “Knightfall” ultimately works best when focusing on Ogilvy and Sothcott. Their father-daughter dynamic gives the screenplay some needed emotional weight, particularly because the espionage storyline itself offers few surprises.

Ogilvy brings an easy confidence to Charles without turning him into an exaggerated aging action hero. Sothcott handles much of the physical material as Ros and proves equally convincing during the quieter moments involving her complicated relationship with her father. Moore provides charm as Ros’ partner Hugh, while Robert Cavanah brings the necessary menace as Ivan.

Fortune keeps the film moving with military infiltrations, shootouts, motorcycle action, hand-to-hand combat, and a home-invasion sequence that becomes one of the film’s stronger stretches. At 82 minutes, the pacing works in its favor.

However, “Knightfall” also inherits some of the shortcomings of those direct-to-video thrillers that inspired my nostalgia. Biological weapons, secret agents, government conspiracies, and heavily armed mercenaries are familiar ingredients, and the screenplay never quite finds the twist that would elevate them. There are also moments when the film’s ambitions extend beyond what its independent budget can convincingly deliver.

Still, “Knightfall” has enough personality and solid performances to make the ride worthwhile. It feels like the kind of movie I might have taken a chance on during a Friday-night trip to the video store—entertaining enough to justify the rental, but probably not one I would return looking to purchase.

Final Grade: C+