As a massive fan of director Gareth Evans and his two RAID masterpieces, I was eagerly awaited his much-delayed next feature. But it turns out that APOSTLE is a very different beast altogether, and nowhere near as satisfying as those pulse-pounding masterpieces. It's a perfectly acceptable watch as a film, but there's no denying that this is a derivative and minor work, in which the storyline feels stretched out to fit the two hour running time. The obvious inspiration here is THE WICKER MAN but I was surprised to see this turning GAME OF THRONES lite in the second half. The first hour is a definite slow burner and very well directed, although Dan Stevens is a bit over the top as the protagonist. The second half is quite bitty, featuring some decent set-pieces, action and gore effects, but feeling disappointingly thin overall. The supporting cast put in assured performances but once every slightest bit of mystery is explained the film loses its mystique and the supernatural elements never really gel with the story of human jealousy and rivalry. I'd say that APOSTLE's worth a watch, but it's not one I'd be in a hurry to revisit.

Thomas Richardson (Dan Stevens) is on a mission to save his sister who has been kidnapped by a cult living on an isolated island. The leader Malcolm Howe (Michael Sheen) and two others started the community. Thomas sneaks onto the island. There is paranoid fear of the King's men and one assassin makes the attempt on Malcolm only to be saved by Thomas. Thomas discovers that the group is a supernatural blood cult.

This is The Wicker Man if that movie is any good. There is good tension and constant dread. It does need more in the introduction. At least, it should be clearer. It should start with him getting branded in China. That's a great scene and it could inject a little supernatural into the world. It also needs to declare the time and place more forcefully. Even with the two hour version, the intro needs more. Stevens and Sheen are both very solid. The visual imagination is beautiful. With the thick plot, it is a little choppy with many characters. A bit of trimming could help. Overall, this is a very good Netflix movie.

"Apostle" is an overrated violent film where the viewer expects more explanation along the weird story, but out of the blue the movie ends. The plot begins without any character development and the time and place are not defined (maybe in the beginning of the Twentieth Century). In the first scene, the viewer learns that a wealthy woman has been kidnapped and taken to an island by a dangerous sect that wants ransom to release her. Her brother decides to travel to the island and infiltrate in the sect to find whether she is alive or not. Dan Stevens performs the brother that is a sort of anti-hero, being beaten and wounded in every confrontation. He is seriously wounded protecting the leader of the sect without any explanation. The funny thing is that immediately after he swims in sewage looking for his sister and without any infection in the wound. The twist is a being arrested in a cabin that the messy screenplay throws on the screen without any explanation. There are free violence along the story and the conclusion is also awful. Is NETFLIX using robots to promote this flick? My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): Not Available