Written by Robert Scucci | Published
Sometimes a movie comes along that you really want after reading the synopsis, but you can’t fully get into it because of how inconsistent it is. Stone Cold Foxwhich saw a limited theatrical release last November, went quietly into circulation, and its premise, as well as its cast, sounded promising. It’s a serviceable film about families caught up in cults, corrupt cops, and drug trafficking, but it lacks that x-factor that would make for a satisfying trip to the theater. In other words, it feels like this one was made to live on broadcast, for reasons I’ll get into.
funny, Stone Cold Fox currently sits in the Netflix Top 10, and I can’t say people are wrong to tune into this one. It’s a thriller about revenge that is well led by Krysten Ritter and Kiernan Shipka, and the supporting cast of Kiefer Sutherland, Jamie Chung, Michel Prada, and Adam Elshar fully commit to the script. The problem I had Stone Cold Fox that it tries to do too many things at once, spreading its space thin between too many tonal shifts.
By refusing to choose which lane to stay on, Stone Cold Fox it’s always fun, but it comes across as disjointed in a way that makes me think the 86-minute version we’re able to achieve is the result of a runtime cut that undermines the overall vibe we’re trying to achieve.
Fox And Goldie’s Fallout
Stone Cold Fox centers on Kiernan Shipka’s Fox, a runaway who seeks refuge from her abusive parents at Goldie’s (Krysten Ritter) place. Goldie is a drug dealer who hunts people like Fox, working in collaboration with the corrupt Sergeant Billy Breaker (Kiefer Sutherland). Although Fox is said to be Goldie’s right-hand woman, there are others who are less than sexy as well who may unwittingly fall prey to Goldie’s tricks. Goldie gets her people drunk and provides them with food and shelter to maintain control over them, while Sergeant Billy helps run her operation by finding hidden objects and hiring girls to keep the machine running while she roams around.
When Fox thinks he sees his long-lost sister, Spooky (Bluesy Burke), in a bar, he decides to take a break, taking a bunch of drugs from Goldie and Billy, at first thinking it’s a bag of money. In revenge, they kidnap Spooky in an attempt to gain power, not knowing that Officer Corbett (Jamie Chung) is already suspicious of Billy’s criminal activities.
Here’s Where It Gets Dicey
On the run from the law, Goldie and Billy, and perhaps himself, Fox seeks help from the traumatized and naive doctor Frankie (Michel Prada), and Sylvester Stallone’s obsessed brother Dylan (Adam Elshar). Finally realizing they can live out their action-movie dream, they mount nunchakus and shurikens, ready to fight to the death in search of Spooky.
I loved every single quirk Stone Cold Fox it had to be a given, but these disparate plot points and character interactions don’t come together as a cohesive feature-length film. The pacing feels off, and the shift in tone from straight-up serious to borderline slapstick didn’t sit well with me, even if I wanted it to. As a champion of short sprint times, it feels like Stone Cold Fox missing about 30 minutes of footage that needs to be attached to the landing. It’s still an exciting, revenge-driven game, and everyone brings their A-game to the table.
The acting is solid, some of the visuals are really lovely, and the constant lifting is fun to watch happen, but there’s something missing that makes the whole thing feel incomplete. I still enjoyed watching Stone Cold Foxcurrently streaming on Netflix, but I can’t say in good conscience that its potential has lived up to my expectations.
