Director Ryuhei Kitamura has carved out a niche in creating action horror films that revel in the gore. The Midnight Meat Train, No One Lives, Downrange, Versus, and his recent segment in Nightmare Cinema showcase Kitamura’s frenetic style and ability to get the biggest and bloodiest bang for his buck, no matter the film’s budget or genre. In other words, whether you love the movies mentioned above or not, it’s hard not to be impressed by the spirited way Kitamura approaches his craft. That’s precisely what makes The Doorman so baffling. This action thriller fails at just about every level, including developing any personality.
Opening with a convoy mission that introduces Ali (Ruby Rose), our eponymous protagonist, The Doorman manages to lose its footing right out of the gate. That mission, in which combat soldier Ali is tasked with protecting a diplomat’s young daughter, fails spectacularly, leaving the soldier a sole survivor suffering PTSD. Her kind uncle gets her a job as a doorman in a ritzy New York apartment building, where she then becomes the only thing standing in the way between the building’s residents and a gang of thieves.
Action movies tend to require some suspension of disbelief, at least on some level. For example, John Wick wants you to believe that all of Manhattan is densely packed with hitmen. It’s easy to buy into that implausible scenario because the style, characters, and fight sequences are so damn fun. The Doorman doesn’t bother with either of those things. With a script that cobbles together every action movie cliché from more well-known films, like Die Hard, and employs laughable dialogue and scenarios, this cast already has a steep mountain to climb in engendering audience sympathy. Early scenes tell us that PTSD defines Ali, except that it doesn’t matter whatsoever to the plot outside of maybe two half-hearted attempts to present the PTSD. Ali’s connection to the central family being held hostage by the thieves is revealed to be a laughably lousy bombshell delivered straight from a Lifetime movie. It’s meant to flesh out these relationships, but it’s so feebly handled and inconsequential that you wonder why they bothered. Never mind the explanation of why this building is so sparsely inhabited.
With a script this bad, penned by Lior Chefetz, Joe Swanson, and Devon Rose, the actors didn’t stand a chance. Rose previously showed off her action chops with John Wick: Chapter 2, but here she’s a bland heroine. Jean Reno phones it in as the head villain, and Rupert Evans might be her love interest? Maybe? It’s hard to say because the script is so messy, and Kitamura can’t coax compelling performances from his actors here. The most vicious of the thieves is Aksel Hennie’s Borz, the real big bad. We know this because the film has him killing in cold blood for the hell of it. His stilted portrayal and silly choices undermine the ruthlessness.
All could be forgiven if the action sequences were well done, but they’re few and far between. What’s worse is the choreography is uninspired and sloppy. At one point, Ali has her opponent where she wants him, then drops her gun so she can engage in hand-to-hand combat with art tube carrying cases. It doesn’t make much sense, but then nothing in this movie does. There are only the occasional glimpses of Kitamura’s usual sense of action entertainment, namely a fun trap that Ali sets for a pursuer. Still, overall, nothing about this action thriller bears Kitamura’s imprint. The only aspect of the film that walks away from this movie unscathed is the production design- the vintage apartment building with its hidden prohibition corners makes for a cool setting.
It’s challenging to make an action thriller this bland, but The Doorman succeeds. Lifeless performances, a silly script that feels pastiche, and uninspired action and fight choreography make for one of the most maddening viewing experiences of the year. The official synopsis described this as a “punishing action-thriller,” and that’s half true. It’s not much of an action-thriller, but it’s most certainly punishing to watch.
