TRACERS (Daniel Benmayor). 93 minutes. Opens Friday (March 20). For venues and times, see Movies. Rating: NN
Where to watch: Netflix, iTunes
Tracers is the parkour version of a Fast And The Furious or Step Up sequel. It ignores the basic requirements of cinema – narrative, tension, emotion – to pile on more scenes of attractive, fit people doing dynamic, envelope-pushing things.
If you cast the right actors, it can work out nicely. But if you don’t, well, you get Tracers.
Human-shaped void Taylor Lautner plays scrappy bike messenger Cam, who follows a mysterious young woman (The 100’s Marie Avgeropoulos) into a club of free-running enthusiasts who also pull crimes on the side. Can this be the solution to Cam’s money problems, or will there be unexpected complications?
The New York City locations feel appropriately grimy, but Lautner still can’t sell complex emotions, and the jump here/run there action choreography grows very monotonous in the midsection. Tyrant’s Adam Rayner is the most interesting thing in the picture as a genial criminal mastermind, but he doesn’t get nearly enough screen time.
