If you saw the Orlando Bloom-led action thriller Red Right Hand in theaters in 2024, then you’re in the minority.
This film was only released in a handful of theaters when it dropped day-and-date with its digital release in February.
Now, Red Right Hand is streaming on Hulu, and it’s an unexpectedly wild ride that constantly surprised and delighted me.
The Watch With Us team has come together to share three reasons you should watch Red Right Hand.
This film may even make it to cult status, if its bizarre sense of humor catches on with enough people.
Orlando Bloom Is Having His Jason Statham Moment
At 48 years old, Orlando Bloom is a little too young to be entering his Liam Neeson phase. But he’s just the right age to assume an action persona that we’ll call his Jason Statham era. As Cash, Bloom looks like a hard man with a dangerous past, which is exactly what he’s supposed to be. He just speaks with an oddly soft voice. Cash is also nurturing enough to be a good father figure towards his niece, Savannah (Chapel Oaks).
Once the story heats up, Bloom turns out to be a credible veteran action hero. This may not be Bloom’s best role or his best movie, but this film has a reinvention of cinematic persona that could put him into a lot more action flicks going forward.
Andie MacDowell Is Wildly Over-the-Top As the Villain
Former rom-com queen Andie MacDowell is playing wildly against type in this movie as its primary villain, Big Cat. And I can’t really decide if Big Cat is meant to be this funny or if MacDowell is being unintentionally hilarious. It kind of doesn’t matter either way, since the end result is a performance you can’t help but laugh at.
Big Cat can be cartoonishly vicious with anyone who displeases her, while also showing a seductive side that’s comically breathless. This may not lead to a lot of villainous roles for MacDowell, but Big Cat does capture the attention of the audience. She’s simply unlike any bad girl role in recent memory, and that kind of originality is appreciated.
Chapel Oaks Is an Emerging Star
Considering that Red Right Hand is her first major role, Chapel Oaks is very impressive in her screen debut. She forms a believable on-screen bond with Cash and her father, Finney (Scott Haze). This isn’t a big spoiler, but the film spends time on Savannah’s weapons lessons so that her gun skills don’t come out of nowhere later in the movie.
Oaks has a very significant role in the final act, as Big Cat attempts to leverage her life to keep Cash under her control. Ironically, it kind of plays out as if Bloom was late to the day the last few sequences were shot. But the action is easy to follow, and that’s more than we can say for several streaming originals.
This is far from an action masterpiece, but Red Right Hand is a pulpy good time if you’re willing to go with some of its ridiculous flourishes.
Red Right Hand is now streaming on Hulu.
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