Selma Hayek is back. Although she never really left, but at least to me, she is back in an action thriller directed by John Lynch and written by Yale Hannon. Everly, played by Selma Hayek, is a tale of an enslaved prostitute by the Yakuza seeking her escape from that life. Once found out she has been working with the police to bring down her owner Taiko, she is sent on a gauntlet of death while trying to protect her daughter. It was made in 2014 but released via iTunes January 2015.
I am a huge Hayek fan, but this movie possesses its pluses and minuses. A couple of the pluses are:
1. It is a non-stop action ‘thrill’ ride from the moment the movie begins.
2. Hayek looks as good as when I saw her in Fools Rush In (I know) and Tarintino’s from Dusk til Dawn. If you have not seen it, see it.
3. The band of characters she must fight off are as colorful as most Japanese characters can be. I am referencing another funny movie (although this isn’t a comedy) called Panty Man. Just google it.
Now, here are the minuses.
1. The story seems to lack substance. The driving force seems to be how much damage can Everly endure. She is a Timex watch in this. She is beaten when we are introduced to her. She is tortured, shot, burned with acid, attacked by sai weapons and bitten by a dog – or maybe that was the guy on the couch who just doesn’t die.
2. Questionable decision-making by the character. She has been missing for 4 years because she was kidnapped by the Yakuza and took into prostitution and finds out that her owner is aware of the fact of disloyalty and wants her dead; but she tells her mother with her daughter to come to the apartment that she knows she is trapped in…Because she wants to get them to safety. The mom did get some serious points from though. You will have to watch the movie to find.
3. Although her character kicks ass, why in the hell when people feel they have Everly where they want her…they do the Bond Villain thing and give her time to figure out a way to escape.
Due to the 3 issues on both sides, it was great to see Selma as a strong lead. She was deadly. (The way I’ve always loved her to be.) She was unsure of herself but confident enough to take a stand against all odds. Even if she is an oppressed prostitute, she kicked ass and fought to get herself out the situation she was in. I feel it would be in bad taste to compare it to another movie named Enough starring the beautiful Jennifer Lopez (jlo for those that don’t know). The tenacity is the same. They are both fleeing a male oppressor but this seems to have some of that Japanese Dark Comedy that I am used to seeing in some of their movies.
Even if I think this is a bad movie, I will recommend to give it a shot. It is worth the time watching if you have nothing else to do or a summer evening or afternoon. Hayek does provide a strong performance but the movie fails to deliver a good story. She is trying to carry it with all or her skills.
Rating 
(3 / 5) – I think i am being pretty generous but she saved it for me.
