Code Ava - Trained to Kill - DVD

Movie: Ava (Jessica Chastain) is a stone-cold professional killer. She completes her missions first class, but due to the fact that she always talks to her victims before killing them, she is a thorn in the side of her powerful employers. While her mentor (John Malkovich) tries to save Ava from her own recklessness, her boss Simon (Colin Farrell) already has hit men out to get her. And so, on her forced leave, Ava must first confront her past and then fight for her survival - proving once again that she's one of the best at what she does.

With "Code Ava - Trained to Kill" director Tate Taylor ("The Help") delivers a solid action thriller in which Jessica Chastain can convince as a sexy hitwoman. Supporting roles are also very well cast with actors like John Malkovic and Colin Farrell. Visually, the film also scores with atmospheric images and thrillingly filmed action sequences. But quite in a league with similar works like "Atomic Blonde" or "John Wick" plays this professional killer unfortunately not. This is not so much due to the fact that you have seen the story of a killer who suddenly finds himself in the crosshairs of the clients many times before.

Much more it is due to the numerous scenes in which the focus is not on the action but on the characters. Here, unfortunately, it becomes clear that the script is not strong enough to keep the audience engaged even through the quieter passages. No question, the strong actors, first and foremost a once again really good Jessica Chastain, can make up a lot of ground there. But even they can't prevent that some scenes drag on noticeably. But it also has to be said that the weaker scenes don't make up the majority of the movie. They just slow down the strong moments and the pace again and again, which unfortunately gets in the way of a very good overall impression.

"Code Ava - Trained to Kill" is nevertheless an entertaining, in places also quite exciting and rousing action thriller, which does not play to its full potential, but which can score with a strong ensemble, a high-quality visuals and great choreographed fight sequences. For a relaxed home cinema evening just right and therefore also quite clearly: worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The DVD convinces technically with a high image sharpness and an atmospheric color scheme. Especially in the outdoor scenes is also still a pleasant image depth, which reinforces the positive overall impression. The sound is available as a powerful Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, which provides a decent surround feeling, especially in the action scenes. Good!

Extras: As a bonus there is a short look behind the scenes (approx. 14:34 min, Engl. without UT), which consists of numerous film clips and some promo interviews. There's also the trailer.

Conclusion: "Code Ava - Trained to Kill" is an entertaining action thriller that has some flaws dramaturgically, but makes up for them with a strong ensemble and well-choreographed fights. The DVD presents this home cinema premiere in good picture and sound quality, the bonus material on the other hand turns out a bit meager. But the bottom line is that all this clearly results in a convinced: recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp