Dangerous (2021) Review

Directed by: David Hackl

Starring: Scott Eastwood, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Durand, Famke Janssen, and Mel Gibson

Synopsis: Ex reformed sociopath Dylan Forrester (Scott Eastwood) is trying to quietly serve out his parole — with the help of a steady supply of antidepressants and his eccentric psychiatrist
(Mel Gibson). But when his brother dies under mysterious circumstances, Dylan breaks parole and, with a dogged FBI agent (Famke Janssen) on his trail, goes to uncover the truth. A band of heavily armed mercenaries wants something Dylan’s brother was hiding, and Dylan will need all his guile and tactical skills to survive in this action-packed thriller costarring Kevin Durand and Tyrese Gibson.

Review: Scott Eastwood stars as sociopath, Dylan ‘D’ Forrester, in this exciting new action thriller, Dangerous. Dylan is a man who feels zero empathy but is trained with elite mercenary skills. So you can see the problem here, right?

Scott Eastwood is perfectly cast in this role and it’s clear to see he has done plenty of research on how a sociopath might act; he completely nails it.

Dylan is supposed to be a reformed mercenary; he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Throughout the movie, however, Dylan is crippling his enemies or knocking them out. He takes pride in not killing them, which he is more than capable of. Dylan continually checks in with his psychiatrist, played by Mel Gibson, who steals every scene he is in. Gibson’s character doesn’t want Dylan to return to his former life so is always giving advice to not do anything rash. Dylan usually finds a way to take cover and ring his psychiatrist, right in the middle of brawls, in order to get advice on ‘to kill or not to kill’. On viewers’ surprise, when Gibson hears shooting on the phone, we get a complete laugh-out-loud moment when Gibson gives him the go-ahead to kill them all.

Famke Janssen and Tyrese make cameo appearances, both as law enforcement officers. Famke is tracking down Dylan, while Tyrese ends up on the island with him, for a short period.

Dangerous has some great action sequences. A great highlight is when Dylan mounts a huge, old school turret gun to mow down some bad guys.

Kevin Durand takes on villain duties as Cole, a ruthless mercenary. Kevin Durand brilliantly creates a cold, smart and cunning character.

Overall, you could say that Dangerous is like Die Hard, but set on an island. Dylan and his psychiatrist have a relationship similar to Die Hard’s John McClane and Al Powell, while Cole has a similar character to Hans Gruber.
Dangerous is a great actioner, and perfect for Scott Eastwood. The ending is left open for sequels, but the story also carves an interesting setting for a prequel. Whichever direction Dangerous goes though, I look forward to seeing more of Dylan Forrester.