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There’s just certain things one can expect from a film directed by William Kaufman. One can expect a dark story. Flawed but worth rooting for anti-heroes. A massive amount of ammo spent and above all, one hell of an action flick. From his opening salvo in The Prodigy to his most recent movie The Channel, true fans can see just how much he has come throughout the years. Kaufman has made some of the most influential indie action films of late like the slick crime thriller Sinners and Saints to the apocalyptic beast that is Daylight’s End and now he has given us his most welcomed entry to date. The Channel.
From watching the initial trailer, The Channel looks like your average cops and robbers flick but in its center, it’s a tried and true testament to brotherhood and loyalty and those who will do anything for the ones they love. Oh yes, there’s the usual amounts of brutal action set pieces highlighted by immense firepower and spot on tactical precision and here it’s all on full display in a leading candidate one of the best action pictures of the year.
The heart of our story centers around the Sheridan brothers…Jamie and Mic. Both casualties of war and both clinging to what lives they have. Jamie has much more to live for as he’s a father and Mic is a rabid dog that at his core is an undying love for his brother.
Tough times have forced the brothers to engage in armed robbery and unfortunately as the movie opens, a bank heist goes disastrously awry as federal agents and police officers respond forcing the crew into a hailstorm of bullets. When the dust clears, only Jamie, Mic and a fellow comrade are left and now with a very determined FBI agent hot on their heels, they’ll have to navigate the dangerous criminal underworld of New Orleans in one night to make it out alive. But at what price?
This is the question that Kaufman raises for the audience and Clayne Crawford as Jamie and Max Martini as Mic deliver high caliber performances punctuated by great onscreen chemistry that is highlighted by just how different each one is. Crawford portrays Jamie as a desperate man who has nowhere else to turn to help his child while Mic still needs a war to fight and is savage in his loyalty to Jamie that will be tested before the credits roll.
The supporting players are all game too with Nicoye Banks delivering a solid turn as Special Agent Frank Ross with E.K. Spilla bringing up the rear in a pivotal role. Mike “Lobo” Daniels is always great to see and I always want more from his characters and here he shows up at the beginning as one of the Sheridan Brothers’ crew named Vee. I just wish he would have stuck around longer as he could have added to the narrative.
Julienne Joyner comes out of nowhere as Jamie’s girlfriend Ava and she ties everything together with a performance that is both sensitive and animalistic at the sane time. There’s more to her character and it’s a welcome sight to see that she can handle herself but still convey a sympathetic side all at the same time as she’ll do whatever it takes for her child.
The Channel is a stripped down slice of life shown through the eyes of desperate human beings and while on the outside these men are criminals who have done very wrong, you can’t help but root for them to make it to the other side when the sun comes up.
Kaufman makes sure that we just don’t get to know one side as he gives the agents on the case character arcs as well. It’s a Yin-Yang analogy that plays off in the sweltering heat of the New Orleans landscape and we get to see the worst that the city has to offer. Kaufman always makes the city it’s own character and here it’s unforgiving and cruel just like the elements that our brothers are up against.
At 95 minutes, the movie is a lean and mean show of force with several standout firefights that serve up in your face violence but here it’s done in a way that it’s a statement of the times. The opening is a barrage of images that is punctuated by green night vision and a first person shooter viewpoint that recalls anything out of a video game and it starts off the ride perfectly for what’s to come.
The true action extravaganza is the Heat like shootout during the robbery that is long and hard and is punctuated with precise military tactics and weapons handling. It may not have the scope of Michael Mann’s classic but it rivals it in so many ways and begs to be viewed more than once in its sheer unapologetic force that hits you over the head like blunt force trauma. It may be one of the best action sequences this year and that’s coming from a year that includes John Wick and Extraction.
Overall, The Channel deserves the biggest audience possible as it reminded me of such great crime thrillers like the aforementioned Heat as well as Taxi Driver and Scarface. It’s loaded with in your face action and a story that makes you care about these people and what makes desperate individuals do what they do. Filmmakers like William Kaufman prove that action and good storytelling can be done with limited resources along with a cast and crew that believe in the movie they are making and this is one film that deserves a theatrical release.
Clayne Crawford and Max Martini are spot on and they are the ones that drive this movie and make us want to take this violent and grotesque ride through the criminal lifestyle. The supporting cast are top notch as well and you can tell that all involved really wanted to make the best movie possible that is a legit notch in the genre.
The Channel is a crackling crime thriller filled with raw intensity that combines ferocious gunplay with a story that is more heart than violence. Kaufman balances both nearly perfectly and it’s his best to date. A top contender for best action pic and it continues the trend of 2023 being a bounce back year for action cinema.
VERDICT: 4.5 Out of 5 Stars
ACTION-FLIX APPROVED and ESSENTIAL
The Channel is a Ferocious Tale of Brotherhood and Loyalty Amidst a Hailstorm of Automatic Weapon’s Fire!
In Select Theaters and On Demand on July 14
