Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director/co-producer: Brian Andrew Mendoza, Netflix.
It’s better not to be stereotyped in an acting role – as is the case with Jason Momoa. It’s a new hero look for the 193-cm-tall Hawaiian-born actor – a world apart from warriors and superheroes. He looks the part – from a fatherly, fiercely protective standpoint in this revenge thriller.
Recently seen in Aquaman, Momoa first made his name as monosyllabic warlord Khal Drogo in Season 1 of Game of Thrones in 2011. There have been other acting roles: from 1999 to 2001, he starred in the television series Baywatch: Hawaii playing lifeguard Jason Ioane. He was also seen in Justice League, and will star in the upcoming sci-fi epic Dune, where he helps secure a hostile planet for his master, Timothée Chalamet.
In Sweet Girl, Momoa plays Ray Cooper, a devoted family man, who vows justice against the pharmaceutical company responsible for pulling a potentially life-saving drug from the market just before his wife (Adria Arjona) dies from cancer. The search for truth, however, leads to a deadly encounter that puts Ray and his daughter Rachel (played by American actress and singer Isabela Merced) in harm’s way. As a result, Ray’s mission turns into a quest for vengeance in order to protect the only family he has left.
Corporate greed is sure to ravage the nearest and dearest, but the fight is on to protect the ancestral unit. Going after powerful people, though, is not going to be easy. Fear and cloak-and-dagger-moves turn to disbelief as the play out action doesn’t ring true – and it should have.
Some iconic locations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, are recognisable. The use of special effects in an early scene leads to uncertainty, though the potential is there for a sequel.
