Term Life (2016)

Please don't spend money on this.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Vince Vaughn and Hailee Steinfeld elevate a Routine Action-Drama with some Good Father-Daughter Chemistry that keeps this one going when the Narrative lapses with Clunky Connections and Uninspired Storytelling.Slightly Above Average Time-Filler that has a Major Distraction of Familiar Actors with so little Screen Time that Draws Attention and not in a good way. The Idea of peppering the Picture with Recognizable "Names" only to be Woefully abandon and Never to be Seen Again is a Decision of Questionable Consideration.It's a rather Charming Exercise Otherwise. Vaughn is a Likable Dad that all but Abandon His Daughter but is shown to be More Involved in Her Life than She realized. Keeping in the Shadows, He is now forced to Intervene, because She is in Danger from some Criminals. His Criminal Ways have caught up and now both are caught up between Drug Lords and Corrupt Cops.It's a Good Turn for Vaughn although His Recent Outing in HBO's Second Season of "True Detective" preceded this "Straight" Role and Impressed. Hailee Steinfeld Steals some Scenes and the Two are Tasked to bring down Bill Paxton's Cop that is a Slime-Ball. Paxton pulls the Character off quite well. Overall the Domestic Drama is what Emerges as Significant and the Constant Peril is the Vehicle that motivates the Interaction and together it makes for some Entertainment that is Worth a Watch.

"Term Life" succeeds as an action film and a drama of father-daughter bonding primarily because it does not take itself too seriously. The film is designed as light entertainment with no other pretensions.Vince Vaughn is good as the beleaguered, yet inventive, planner of heists. After doing the leg work on a stick-up opportunity, he "sells" his plans to the criminal buyers. After a heist goes sour, Vaughn's character must go into hiding, and he is forced to "kidnap" his daughter, in order to protect her from the two principal villains--a drug lord and a crooked cop.The film becomes engaging when the daughter begins to "learn the ropes" of the business of crime, and, above all, the mindset of the criminal. The young woman is a fast study, and the actress playing the daughter, Hailee Steinfeld, steals the show.The best scene in the film was the moment when the father and daughter are at a fair, and the dad intercedes when a woman and her child are cheated out of a prize. He violates one of his cardinal rules as a criminal by making himself so conspicuous that bystanders may remember him. One of those bystanders is a cop, who is played by Terrence Howard. Of course, the cop will later remember the face of the kind man at the fair. This well-crafted scene pays dividends in the development of Vaughn's character as a criminal who has a heart.Overall, "Term Life" was not a great film. But it included a fine set of character actors, brisk pacing by the director, and an excellent dose of sheer entertainment.

"Term Life" fails to deliver on the promise of its premise. It has an interesting premise. A man facing imminent and unavoidable death takes out a life insurance police to provide for his estranged daughter and must contrive to survive extraordinary odds until the policy takes effect. Somehow, I equate the film to Jason Stratham's "Crank," but rather than having less than a day, Vaughn's character has three weeks, which lends a leisurely pace. Hailee Steinfeld was great in "True Grit," but isn't given much to work with here. At twenty, she looks possibly twenty-four and seems far too mature to play sixteen – and for what? Her character could just as easily be in her mid twenties. There is relatively little chemistry here. I felt more chemistry in "Safe," another Stratham film, between him and the Chinese kid. Steinfeld's character isn't particularly interesting or even three-dimensional. The plot seems familiar, with elements we've seen before. The characters are fairly two-dimensional. Cinematography is weak with a lot of jigglycam shots. I don't actually remember a single shot that looked as if a rigid camera mount was utilized. The action scenes are of the caliber of episodic television series. Some plot developments seem implausible. Several characters seem to know more than they could possibly know in real life. Overall, it's a watchable low-budget film that devotes too much attention to a relationship that isn't particularly interesting. At 93 minutes, it could probably be cut to 70 or less without losing much. Performances are generally competent, particularly with Vaughn, but hampered by an unimaginative script.

A very surprising movie. With a father/daughter rocky relationship at the heart of the movie and a great cast of actors that must have done this because they like each other and not the money. Low budget but well used scenery and sets. I am not a Vince Vaughn fan so I was surprised that I liked him in the role. But it was Hailee Steinfeld that steals every scene she is in. Which is saying something with a cast that includes Bill Paxton, Jon Favreau the great character actor Jonathan Banks as the crusty friend/mentor to Vaughn. Even the dynamic duo from Empire,Taraji P Henson and Terrence Howard have some fun. This movie is more formula then substance but it is very entertaining. I think that Term Life has more life in it than some of the other reviews say it has. I hope you will try this movie out. Hopefully you will be surprised too.