Fast Charlie: Pierce Brosnan Always Shoots First in an Old-School Film

Charlie Swift, nicknamed Fast Charlie, is a professional hitman who has long worked for Stan Mullen, an aging and ailing mob boss. More than just an employee, Charlie has become his employer's friend and confidant, now caring for him with almost filial devotion. A Marine veteran who lived in Italy for a long time - where he developed a passion for Italian cuisine - Charlie is considered among the best in his field and is often called upon to supervise younger colleagues.

The protagonist is tasked, along with the bizarre Blade, with killing Rollo Kramer and delivering his body to clan leader Beggar. The operation fails grotesquely and, after an attempted betrayal, an explosion kills the disloyal partner, while the target's corpse is comically decapitated. To close the deal, Charlie stages a macabre body swap with the help of Marcie, Rollo's ex-wife, and delivers the "body" to Beggar, who seems to accept the proof and opens up to new business with Stan. But soon Fast Charlie and the woman, now his accomplice, find themselves in grave danger.

Fast Charlie: Without a Moment's Respite

Australian director Phillip Noyce, a Hollywood veteran responsible for titles as diverse as Blind Fury (1989), Salt (2010), and the Jack Ryan diptych starring Harrison Ford - to name just a few from a truly varied filmography - returns to genre cinema in 2023 with an operation that recaptures the atmosphere of classic action-crime films without frills or excesses.

Adapting Victor Gischler's novel Gun Monkeys, published in 2001, he crafts a product that is explicitly old-school, ninety minutes capable of delivering the right satisfaction to fans. Crucial was the choice of protagonist, falling to Pierce Brosnan in one of his most fitting roles in recent years, charming and swaggering, almost evoking his 007 days. Alongside him is a determined Morena Baccarin - known for Homeland and the Deadpool saga - a far from passive female figure, ready to lend him a hand in decisive moments.

Filmed in just five weeks - an almost record time for a production of this type - in and around New Orleans, Fast Charlie benefits from a production swiftness that is reflected in the dynamism and energy of the staging, as crisp and direct as needed to offer immediate entertainment.

Between Farewells and Certainties

A special mention goes to the late James Caan, here in his last cinematic performance before his passing a few weeks after filming wrapped. The actor, already seriously ill on set, delivers a touching and charismatic portrayal of Stan, a declining boss who embodies a criminal era now fading. The relationship between his character and Brosnan's becomes the true emotional heart of the film, a bond of loyalty and friendship imbued with authentic melancholy.

In a dry and brutal narrative, Fast Charlie is a grizzled hitman who hasn't lost his aim and kills in cold blood those he deems worthy of his revenge: a character devoid of moral ambiguities, "tough and pure," who leaves torments and scruples to younger emulators and other generations. Only the romantic subplot and his love for cooking soften his traits, humanizing a figure otherwise rigidly anchored to an idea of old-school masculinity.

Noyce directs with the confidence of someone who perfectly understands the mechanisms of the genre, without feeling obliged to subvert them. The direction is functional and efficient, devoid of gratuitous virtuosity but capable of orchestrating action sequences with clarity and logic. The shootouts are brutal and direct, filmed without excessive frantic editing, allowing the viewer to always follow the events and to enjoy the revenge-movie tones that characterize the second half of the film.