Cook review: Lock in to ‘4×4' for gritty thrills, action
Sometimes, a film sticks with me so much that I want to find out more about its origins.
So it was with the recent 'Locked,' 'a thriller that got lost in the swarm of movies that hit the big screen in the last few weeks. I really liked the idea of the film because I thought it was so original.
But then I discovered it was based on the 2019 '4×4,' which is just a smidge better.
Director Mariano Cohn expertly keeps the action scene-by-scene and second-by-second in this wonderfully simple setup.
The action begins instantly, when Ciro (Peter Lanzani) sees a car sitting on a street in Buenos Aires. Ciro is a thief, and he gets into the car because it's unlocked and may provide him something to steal.
But when he tries to open the door, he finds himself locked in. And what begins as an annoyance turns into a fight for survival.
The owner of the car, a doctor who wants to avenge himself on thieves, has set a trap for Ciro. The owner (Dady Brieva) can lock the car doors and disable the car's power remotely. The vehicle is soundproof and, Ciro discovers quickly, bullet-proof.
No one can see inside as Ciro begins to realize he will last only so long in his vehicular prison.
The doctor calls Ciro through the car's phone system, so the two can talk to each other. This isn't so much a man-against-nature tale as a man-against-technology story.
The leads in both movies resemble each other. But because so much of the American film fills the viewer in on the background of the thief, it took me longer to sympathize with Ciro, about whom we know nothing when he gets into the car.
I like the details that remain intact, such as each thief's moment with a pair of sunglasses and a lipstick lady.
They're similar bur not the same. '4×4' has a little more edge. It, too, should delight action fans who enjoy thrillers – they'll want to take this wild ride.
3 1/2 stars
Running time: One hour and 30 minutes.
Rated: R for foul language, gore and violence.
In Spanish, with English subtitles. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video and other platforms.
Watch the trailer here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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