'The 355' Review: Chastain, Kruger, Nyong'o, Cruz, And Bingbing Are A Force To Be Reckoned With Although They're No Match For The Bad Script

Arlington TX

07 January, 2022

7:29 PM

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By Joe Friar, Fort Worth Report January 7, 2022 As the Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin once sang, "Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves" in the all-female spy thriller "The 355" directed by Simon Kinberg ("Dark Phoenix") featuring an all-star cast led by Jessica Chastain who also serves as a producer on the film. The plot involves a rogue tech device that in the wrong hands could, you guessed it, wreak havoc on the world. It's up to five operatives from various worldwide intelligence agencies to stop the baddies. Unfortunately, the formula doesn't work as well as "Ocean's 8" thanks to the lackluster script (these ladies deserve better) but seeing Chastain and tough-as-steel Diane Kruger go at it leads to a few electrifying moments in this otherwise average film. If you were hoping for a Fox Force Five adventure, "Kill Bill Vol 1" remains the closest incarnation of Tarantino's dreamt-up fem-power agents. Okay, that's a big order to fill. How about giving us a film with super smart and highly skilled female agents that weren't raised by circus performers? You know, like the women in Daniel Craig's 007 shadow who usually upstage the British super spy, the latest references being Lashana Lynch's Nomi and Ana de Armas' Paloma in "No Time to Die." Certainly, the cast assembled here, Lupita Nyong'o, Penélope Cruz, Fan Bingbing, alongside Kruger and Chastain, are worthy of the task. Instead, we are treated to a dumbed-down storyline courtesy of Kinberg and screenwriter Theresa Rebeck who dilute the female characters with material that becomes filler between action segments. The tech at the heart of the film is a data key jump drive that resembles a cell phone which can infiltrate any system in the world giving its possessor the power to blow airplanes out of the sky as a demonstration of its weapon of mass destruction capabilities. Fortunately, we are spared the nerdy inventor subplot as the story remains focused on the weapon's acquisition as it's passed around more times than a beanbag in a game of Hot Potato. Jessica Chastain plays CIA agent Mace Brown, a loose cannon much like her German counterpart agent Marie Schmidt (Diane Kruger), both women are in Paris trying to track down the data key for their respective agencies. Mace is joined by her longtime partner agent Nick Fowler (Sebastian Stan), the two go undercover as a newlywed couple on vacation. There's not much backstory here, but it's implied that Mace and Nick have worked together for a good while, so the scene where he puts the moves on her is so out of place that it feels counterfeit. How she responds is so unlike her strong character who you can tell is tired of being suppressed by her male counterparts. To read the full article, click here. Fort Worth Report is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that produces factual, in-depth journalism about city and county government, schools, healthcare, business, and arts and culture in Tarrant County. Always free to read; subscribe to newsletters, read coverage or support our newsroom at fortworthreport.org.