Revenge, Tony Scott’s fourth feature film, is an erotic thriller that is formulaic and predictable but well-crafted and enjoyable, especially for fans of thriller films from the 1990s. The film begins with Jay Cochran (Kevin Costner) retiring from the United States Navy after 12 years of service. He goes on vacation to Mexico and accepts an invitation from Tiburon “Tibey” Mendez (Anthony Quinn), an old hunting friend and a powerful crime boss in Mexico, constantly surrounded by bodyguards and henchmen. Upon his arrival, Jay meets Miryea, Tibey’s stunning wife (Madeleine Stowe), and falls head over heels in love with her. Jay and Miryea begin a torrid love affair, and when Tibey finds out, his friendship with Jay deteriorates violently.
The best part about the movie is the dazzling chemistry between Costner and Crowe, who are instantly and mutually drawn the moment they sight one another. Both Jay and Miryea are aware that their affection has deadly consequences, and they try their best to stay away from each other, but the more they resist their mutual desire, the closer they become. In a beautiful sequence where Miryea comes to meet Jay at his place, there is a tremendous amount of sexual tension dripping from the corners of the screen as they try their hardest to keep their hands off each other. Tony Scott directs the hell out of that scene, which begins with Jay trying to make lemonade but being unable to because he is nervous, at which point she decides to help, and their hands touch, with Scott neatly showing an insert shot of their hands. They then walk along the beach, where they spend time talking about their private lives and playing with his dog, which adds more intimacy. The sexual tension peaks when it begins to rain, and they exchange glances, giving the impression that they could pounce on each other at any moment, but they resist the impulse. They eventually succumb to that temptation, which leads to a passionate love affair between the two.
Although their physical attraction and inability to remain apart for a long time are undeniable, the lazy writing in their attempts to conceal their affair from Tibey and his subsequent discovery of it was frustrating. If anything, it shows Jay’s stupidity, which is not supposed to be his character trait in this movie. When Tibey catches them in the act, he beats the living daylights out of Jay and slashes Miryea across the face with a knife. He calls her a “faithless w***e” and throws her in a whorehouse by telling her, “If you want to be a w***e, then you can be one for the rest of your life.” Tibey leaves an injured Jay in the desert to die, but a Mexican named Mauro (Joaquin Martinez) finds him there and nurses him back to health. At this point in the movie, the story becomes very predictable. We all know that as soon as Jay recovers, he will go out to find Miryea. However, his journey to find Miryea becomes more interesting as the makers add a couple of new characters, each with their own subplots but ultimately serving Jay’s goal of finding her. One such character is a sickly Texan horse trader who assists Jay in reaching Durango, Tibey’s current destination. The second character is Amador (Miguel Ferrer), Mauro’s brother-in-law, who wants to seek revenge on Tibey as he believes that his sister died when she got mixed up in business that involved Tibey.
Revenge is not a movie about Jay seeking revenge on Tibey. Instead, it is about Tibey exacting vengeance on his best friend and the wife he loves because he feels they have hurt and betrayed him. Kevin Costner’s performance was unconvincing, perhaps because his role was underwritten, particularly in the film’s second half, where it felt that he had lost track of his character. However, Anthony Quinn delivers the best performance in the movie as a mafia boss who is both cold and remorseful of his actions. Even Madelene Stowe’s character was underdeveloped and needed more depth. She is nothing more than a damsel in distress who becomes the primary cause of the strained relationship between two friends, as we have seen many times in movies. Revenge is a well-directed film by Tony Scott, but the screenplay needed to be fleshed out more.
Revenge movie link: IMDB
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