Black Lotus is a film that tries to capture the essence of a Hollywood action flick, but unfortunately falls short of the mark. The film begins with a Dutch cast speaking English, some with strong accents and others with none at all, making for an awkward and uneven start. The first half of the film sees Matteo's character, played by Rico Verhoeven, new to acting but unfortunately barely speaking and feeling like an afterthought or an intern who was given a bit part. However, the second half of the film sees a noticeable improvement in Rico's performance, showing more confidence and delivering a better portrayal of his character.

Production-wise, the film lacks the necessary polish, with many shots feeling basic and not cinematic enough. Low-end color grading is evident in some scenes, with clear transitions and masks showing up in post-production. The editing is passable, but at times can be jarring, with some action scenes that are choppy and hard to follow, leaving the viewer feeling lost and unable to fully engage with the plot.

The plot itself is decent, following the story of a friend of a deceased father returning to the lives of a Dutch family, only to find himself in trouble with the new stepfather. The film follows the story of Matteo, played by Rico Verhoeven, who finds himself in trouble after getting involved with the new stepfather in the Dutch family. He must rescue the young daughter of the family from a kidnapping, leading to a series of action-packed scenes. While the story has its moments, there are several awkward plot points and strange character decisions that leave the viewer feeling frustrated and disconnected from the film.

While Matteo, played by Rico Verhoeven, shows improvement in his performance throughout Black Lotus, he still has a long way to go if he wants to reach the level of legendary action stars like The Rock and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's clear that Verhoeven has potential, but he needs more training and experience to refine his skills and become a more compelling and convincing actor on screen. With the right guidance and dedication, Verhoeven may one day become a force to be reckoned with in the world of action films.

Further more on the positive side, the film does offer some entertaining action scenes that are exciting and have a level of intensity similar to that of a Hollywood blockbuster. However, these scenes can be overshadowed by the film's other shortcomings, such as the confusing editing and uneven acting performances.

In addition to the plot, the film also showcases some beautiful cinematography that captures the Dutch landscape and its unique architecture. However, the visual appeal is often undermined by the film's poor editing and lack of continuity, leaving the viewer feeling disoriented and confused.

The film's soundtrack also adds to the experience, with a mix of Dutch and international artists creating a high-energy and intense atmosphere. However, the sound mixing is inconsistent at times, with some scenes being too loud or too quiet.

Furthermore, Black Lotus attempts to incorporate themes of family, loyalty, and redemption, but these themes are not fully developed or explored, resulting in a shallow and superficial portrayal of these concepts.

Overall, while the film has its moments, it ultimately falls short due to its uneven acting, poor production quality, and lack of cohesive storytelling. If you are a fan of action movies, you may find some enjoyment in the film, but for those looking for a more polished and cohesive production, this film may not be worth the price of admission.

There's some nice scenery and decent cinematography, and an adequate score for a B film, but the rest is all underwhelming. Maybe casting a stronger lead may have made this film more watchable, because Rico Verhoeven can't act. I'm sure part blame goes to poor cast directing, but it seems the rest of the cast held their own, so I can't say for sure. Verhoeven was just too bland, expressionless and carried himself like a big doofus. He was ok I guess in the action scenes, although hard to tell from the poor fight choreography. The female Interpol agent had a better fight scene at the end and looked more like an action star than Verhoeven. The only person who carried most of the film was Grillo, who wasn't on screen much, and he deserves much better than this mess. The writing was just a bunch of variations and cliches from much better movies in this genre. Even at a mere 90 min runtime, the pacing was slow and the story lacked urgency and was underwhelming, and just dragged onto the next predictable scene after scene.

I went to the premiere om wednesday. Dutch studio's should really stop making action movies. This movie belongs on Netflix...or even better, just make it a free gift on the next Glory PPV.

The only reason I gave this movie a chance was because I'm a fan of fightsports, so Verhoeven and Grillo caught my attention. But the dialogues and the accents really ruined the movie. You really need subtitles to understand Marie Dompnier her English. The action and 'flashback' scenes are full of B-movies cliches and not in a fun way as you would expect from like a Van Damme or Stallone movies these days.

I'm really sorry for Frank Grillo. He didin't deserve this review, he's a good actor in my opinion.

I really couldn't stand it anymore after the first half...so I walked out. I have never done this before in my whole life.

The only thing worse then this movie....was the fact that I forgot my keys and had to go back.