'The Man From Toronto' Review: Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson chemistry highlight of action comedy
Netflix has just released action-comedy movie 'The Man From Toronto' directed by Patrick Hughes. Starring Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson, the movie is a wild and action-packed adventure of the two protagonists involving assasins, FBI, mistaken identity, and what not.
The Netflix movie introduces Teddy Jackson (Kevin Hart), a salesman for a local gym, who is struggling to launch his own line of exercise equipment. He also tries to find success as a wannabe influencer with his gym videos, however, they also fail to help him. Next thing he knows he is fired from his job due to his constant screw-ups. His failures are famous in his town that often uses the term ‘Teddy’d’ whenever anyone screws up. Teddy is married to Lori (Jasmine Mathews) and plans to take her to a Virginia cabin and spa retreat for her birthday. In the past he has failed to attend her birthdays and decides to compensate for all those times by promising her that he will not screw up.
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On the other hand, Woody Harrelson plays a deadly assassin who is referred to as ‘The Man from Toronto’. He is a notorious hitman whose reputation speaks for himself. He is famous for using violent tactics to accomplish his missions. He is an orphan who witnessed his grandfather being eaten alive by a bear. With a kitchen full of weaponries and cash, fondness for 19th century American poetry, obsession with a 1969 Dodge car named Debora, Toronto is not someone to be messed with. He also works for a mysterios handler named Debora (Ellen Barkin), who assigns him to a mission to help a Venezuelan colonel for two million dollars.
As the movie continues, Teddy ends up in the wrong cabin where two mean-looking individuals are wating for The Man from Toronto. Not having seen the assassin, these men mistake Teddy for him and take his photo. What follows next is a set of violent shootings that leads to Teddy being captured by the FBI. He tries to convince the FBI that he is not the assassin but the FBI knows that already. However they need his help to capture the Venezuelan colonel named Marin who is planning to blow up the Venezuelan embassy. The colonel believes Teddy is The Man from Toronto, as a result, the FBI can spoil his plans only through Teddy. A horrified Teddy does not want to be involved in the plan; however, he later sees himself playing the imposter. The plan backfires, and Teddy finally meets the real Man from Toronoto. What follows next is an unlikely partnership between the two contrasting individuals as they embark on a turbulent journey.
As always, Hart steals the show with his comedy, and is equally supported by Harrelson with an impressive performance. The camaraderie between Hart and Harrelson is the highlight of the movie. The constant bickerings between the trainwreck Teddy and the deadly assasin, along with their wild adventure sees the two distinct characters go from enemies to allies that offers many comedy sequences. The well choreographed action scenes also deserve a special mention. There are some glaring flaws in the film as well. The plot does not offer a well designed story and there are times when certain sequences seem very dull. Apart from Harrelson and Hart, the suppporting characters of the movie fail to impress.
Overall, 'The Man From Toronto’ is a typical action comedy that balances both the genres in a decent manner. The fast paced plot and an action-packed climax is reminsicent of old fashioned Hollywood. Despite some flaws, the Netflix movie manages to deliver a solid action flick about a deadly assassin and a clueless salesman who gets mixed up with him.
'The Man From Toronto' is available on Netflix.
