Actually, The Wages of Fear is a remake of a film called the same name released in 1953. It focuses on several individuals saving refugee camp. They have to carry two hundred kilos of Nitro-glycerine to an oilwell near the refugee camp which is very dangerous because Nitro-glycerine is highly explosive. If you liked the original movie, this will be disappointing for you as it was for me. You’ll find yourself wanting more from Julien Leclercq’s direction just so that he could have shown more respect to the classic.
The whole movie might not be great but there are some standout action scenes that make it interesting. This includes Fred and Alex having flashbacks and a hand-to-hand combat scene with Alex in prison. The Wages of Fear these scenes which somewhat break up an otherwise weak storyline.
One thing I didn’t like about this film was how location was used. Despite being set in Morocco, the region isn’t really used very well here. There is no rough terrain meaning that Nitro-glycerine barely poses any threat hence denying us an opportunity for more intense moments throughout the film. Only at the end does the location come into play when it could have been used all through to bring out more thrilling sequences.
Character development is practically non-existent as well. Take Clara, for example; she is portrayed as a loving doctor running an NGO for refugees’ life in camps since her birth right from its beginning seems off center thus showing her desperation early on in her career life. She agrees to help save lives after Oil Company developed a mission towards their rescue and people would expect that throughout the movie she will grieve over loss of friends and get stronger emotionally apart from getting braver particularly in various action scenes; however, such scenes do not occur & consequently her character doesn’t evolve much making it rather irrelevant as far as this entire play goes.
Fred and Alex’s characters are also plain and simple. Fred’s motivations include guilt, greed and these continue until the end including a climax. Alex in turn is always mad about something and just concerned about his brother Fred as well as being interested in their love affair. Despite having had some differences reconciled by the half of the movie, they reunite without making much sense.
The movie is supposed to be an action thriller but it lacks thrill at all. Nitro-glycerine’s danger does not work either and even though the landscape looks rocky, there are no bumps, pits or rocks on their path from afar. Although some bullets may occasionally hit them, none of them actually hit the Nitro-glycerine since they always miss by a whisker. It can be simply said that this opportunity was wasted by the producers given that both this and terrain aspects could have been used to make it more exciting for viewers.
The Wages of Fear film tries modernizing the 1953 classic but fails in its attempt. The acting is average, but the story doesn’t look like an attractive enough thriller. It lacks any excitement and doesn’t really make you feel for the characters involved. This is not worth your time, especially if you liked the original picture.”
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