The Fix tries to present itself as an exciting science-fiction action thriller, but unfortunately, it rarely manages to deliver. The film certainly has the pace, appearance and ambitions of an action movie, but it too often lacks the actual action and, more importantly, the clarity needed to keep the audience engaged. The result is a rather messy viewing experience in which you will regularly find yourself wondering what exactly is going on.
A Very Confusing Story
The biggest problem with The Fix is undoubtedly its story. The film is incredibly difficult to follow because the narrative is told in such a messy way. Who are all these people? What exactly do they want? And where are they actually going? These are questions you will find yourself asking repeatedly while watching the movie.
That is not necessarily a problem in itself. A movie can certainly be mysterious and deliberately withhold answers from the audience. With The Fix, however, it feels less like intentional mystery and more like the film struggles to clearly explain its own story. Several characters and storylines are introduced, but the connections between them often remain unclear.
As a result, it becomes difficult to really become invested in what is happening.
The Fix Lacks Excitement and Action
Although The Fix has the look and pace of an action movie, the actual action is surprisingly limited. The film often seems to be building toward a big action sequence, only to fail to deliver the expected payoff.
That is a shame, because in terms of presentation, the movie clearly aims to be an energetic and thrilling experience. The pace is often quite fast and there is plenty happening on screen, but that does not automatically make it exciting or entertaining.
The messy storytelling also makes it difficult to care about the characters or build any real tension. When you are mostly trying to figure out what is happening, much of the entertainment value disappears.
The Editing Does Not Help
The editing does not do The Fix any favors either. On top of the story being rather messy, the editing can also feel somewhat choppy at times.
Scenes do not always flow smoothly into one another, and certain transitions contribute to the feeling that you are constantly playing catch-up as a viewer. In a movie that already struggles to communicate its story clearly, that becomes a significant problem.
It makes The Fix feel more chaotic than it really needs to be.
Zachary Levi Is Fine, While Liam Neeson Adds Little
There is at least something positive to say about the acting. Zachary Levi is actually pretty good in his role. He brings enough conviction to the character and is one of the elements that helps keep the movie afloat.
Liam Neeson, on the other hand, does not add particularly much to the movie. His contribution ultimately feels rather insignificant. His name certainly looks good on the poster and will undoubtedly help attract attention to the film, but his presence does not automatically make The Fix more interesting.
Looks Inconsistent
Visually, The Fix is also a rather uneven movie. At certain moments, it looks surprisingly good and professional. Some sequences have a convincing visual style and demonstrate that there was clearly some potential here.
At other times, however, the movie looks noticeably cheaper. This becomes particularly obvious because some scenes look considerably better than others. The result is an inconsistent visual experience.
So, it is certainly not a movie that looks bad all the time, but the inconsistency is hard to ignore.
Gets Better Towards the End
Thankfully, The Fix does improve somewhat as it approaches the ending. As the movie moves closer to its conclusion, things start to come together a little more and it becomes easier to stay engaged.
Unfortunately, this improvement comes rather late. By that point, the movie has already lost quite a bit of goodwill due to its messy storytelling, uneven editing and lack of actual action. The stronger final stretch therefore feels more like a small recovery than a complete turnaround.
A Missed Opportunity
The Fix has enough ingredients on paper to make for an entertaining science-fiction action movie. The pace is there, the film occasionally looks quite professional, and Zachary Levi delivers a perfectly decent performance. Unfortunately, the movie does not make particularly good use of those ingredients.
The story is too messy to follow properly, the editing is frequently choppy, and despite looking like an action movie, there is surprisingly little actual action. The inconsistent visual quality does not help either.
The movie does get somewhat better towards the end, but that is not enough to overcome the problems that dominate much of the runtime.
The Fix is ultimately a messy and underwhelming movie that clearly had more potential.
Rating: 4/10
