Survivor (2015)

A Foreign Service Officer in London tries to prevent a terrorist attack set to hit New York City, but is forced to go on the run when she is framed for crimes she did not commit.

Director:

James McTeigue

Writer:

Philip Shelby

Stars:

Milla Jovovich, Pierce Brosnan, Dylan McDermott

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paddy Wallace	...	Johnny Talbot
Parker Sawyers	...	Ray
Bashar Rahal	...	Militiaman #2
Royce Pierreson	...	Range Finder
Ben Starr	...	Sniper
Sean Teale	...	Alvin Murdock
Regé-Jean Page	...	Robert Purvell (as Rege-Jean Page)
Jing Lusi	...	Joyce Su
Antonia Thomas	...	Naomi Rosenbaum
Milla Jovovich	...	Kate Abbott
Dylan McDermott	...	Sam Parker
Frances de la Tour	...	Sally
Robert Forster	...	Bill Talbot
Jerry-Jane Pears	...	Nymphet (as Jerry Jane Pears)
Roger Rees	...	Emil Balan

Storyline

A State Department employee newly posted to the American embassy in London is charged with stopping terrorists from getting into the U.S. That puts her right in the line of fire and she is targeted for death and framed for crimes. Discredited, she is forced to go on the run while she tries to clear her name and stop a large-scale terrorist attack set for New Year's Eve in Times Square.

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Plot Keywords:

pig | bacon | fuzz | x mas tree | short haired woman | 

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Taglines:

Framed. Abandoned. Hunted.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, some action and brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Lionsgate UK Publicity Official Site

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Pushto Mandarin

Release Date:

29 May 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Survivor

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,839,100

Company Credits

Production Co:

Millennium Films, Millennium Films, Winkler Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The opening sequence of the film is set in war torn Afghanístan and the production team utilized a vast, unused metal factory in Sofia, Bulgaria. Kremikovtzi A.D. was once Bulgaria's largest metalworking company. The factory took three years to build, and was first put into operation in 1963, producing cast iron and coke (fuel), and employing just under seven thousand people. Having once been a thriving company, exporting to other European countries, the U.S., and China, the company fell into severe debt, and by 2006, investors were nervous for the factory's future. In 2008, when Kremikovtzi's owner withdrew from the company, the Socialist government attempted to keep the plant afloat while looking for a new investor, but was unable to save it. Kremikovtzi is now completely non-functioning as a metal working factory, but has found a niche as a diverse and dramatic film location.

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Goofs

The very first screen shows the moon at 5:02am UTC on July 18. Kandahar is +4 1/2 hours UTC so 9:32am local time in July would be bright daylight and not dark moonlight.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Kate Abbott: [answering the phone] Hello?
Sam Parker: I always liked your instincts.
Kate Abbott: Oh, Sam, you're alive!
Sam Parker: Yeah. You, too, from what I hear.
Kate Abbott: Mostly. So I guess this is what we're doing with our lives.
Sam Parker: Yeah, it is. Kate, there were over a million people out there tonight, and you saved them all.

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Crazy Credits

In the three-dimensional animated end credits, images form by flurries of random letters in the background, e.g. of Milla Jovovich's face, the Capitol and the US Foreign Service logo.

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Connections

Referenced in The Making of 'Survivor' (2015)

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Soundtracks

Por Causa Do Amour (A)
Written by Ricardo Alves (GEMA)
Published by Sonoton APM (ASCAP) / Sonoton Music GmbH Co KG (GEMA)
Courtesy of APM

User Reviews

Preposterous and exciting

"Survivor" is a 2015 film starring Pierce Brosnan, Milla Jovovich, Dylan McDermott, Robert Forster, Angela Bassett, and 'Vicious' star Frances de la Tour.

In London, a new State Department employee, Kate Abbott (Jovovich) has the assignment of examining all visas and keeping terrorists out of the U.K. There is a traitor in their midst, and her refusal to back down makes her a target for death, and she is framed for explosions and murders.

Kate goes on the run and soon learns of an attack to take place in New York City. She is being trailed by one of the most successful and ruthless assassins of all time, Nash (Brosnan), known as the Watchmaker.

Everyone in her office has turned against her except for Sam (McDermott) and Sally (de la Tour) who know she is innocent. In fact, one of the big bosses (Angela Bassett) wants her shot on sight.

Kate must get out of the country and go to New York and stop the attack. Will it be possible with the Watchmaker after her?

This is a very exciting film, especially the finale, but the story is absurd. First of all, why is it that the notorious Watchmaker can't seem to shoot this slip of a girl but he manages to kill everyone else he meets? And her escapes, particularly underneath the subway -- unreal.

Second - this woman is supposedly excellent at profiling terrorist subjects, so how come no one wants her to do her job and wants her to let people in she isn't sure about?

Also, anyone who watches modern British mystery or suspense films knows that the Brits have CCTV - so why can't they find her when she's above ground?

Another thing - her friend brings her money. She must have brought her an absolute fortune. I wish I had friends who had thousands of dollars hanging around their apartments. Kate manages to get the money and buys a London to New York ticket, and somehow gets her hands on a laptop - I must have missed that scene. And she didn't shop around for it either - she probably just grabbed it and paid full price.

When she gets to New York to singlehandedly stop this terrorist attack, she offers a driver $500 for the evening. She was rolling in dough.

I will admit the film was both scary and thrilling, with some remarkable chase scenes, and good London locations. And the last part is top-notch.

The acting is quite good. I have seen Milla Jovovich in films before, but frankly I wouldn't know her if I fell over her. I never remember who she is or recognize her. That's either a good or a bad thing, I don't know which. At any rate, she was excellent here except for a small thing.

Her fear, her terror, her horror was real in the chase scenes, and you felt it. One would think when she wasn't running she'd act a little traumatized, but she didn't. I put that down to Kate's training, but I'm not sure Kate was trained to be shot at and chased.

I kept remembering Genevieve Bujold in Coma coming home and telling Michael Douglas, "Someone is putting people into comas" and gradually becoming more and more hysterical. More realistic.

Pierce Brosnan is probably the only Hollywood leading man who hasn't had a face lift or dyed his hair. He looks every second of his sixty years. And mean as he was and good as he was in the role, it's time for him to put his gun and running shoes away.

I still don't understand why he, Harrison Ford, and Clint Eastwood get to keep doing these leads and most women their age are put out to pasture.

"Survivor" is a good rental. If you saw it in the theater, I think you would have been disappointed.