Ava (2020)

**Overall Score: 4.6/5, 4.5/5 Stars, 9/10 Stars**
It's rare when you buy a movie unseen an end up enjoying it. I have always been a fan of Jessica Chastain, so when I saw a new movie with her in it, I knew I had to at least give it a shot. When I saw that it was inexpensive on VUDU, I figured why not just buy it. And I have to admit, I'm glad I did.
**Storyline: 4/5**. Jessica Chastain plays Ava, an assassin working for a mysterious company who doesn't really appreciate the fact that she talks to her targets. When she begins questioning herself, she goes home to see her family and ends up in a struggle for her life.
**Characters: 4/5**. Ava is the main focus of the movie, but we also get introduced to her mother, sister, ex-boyfriend, and handler throughout the movie. Each has their own issues with Ava, but the one closest to her is Duke, her handler and trainer. Her mother is in the story for really no reason than backstory for Ava's character. The sister, Judy, is a little more involved with her overall and might be the closest thing to a full secondary character. The ex-boyfriend, Michael, comes in a close third. There is no deep character connections in this movie, but the characters all do a good job moving the story forward.
**Direction: 4/5**. I do not think I have seen any movies by Tate Taylor before, but he's done a few movies that I never cared to see, so this is my first experience with him. Overall, he's not a bad director. He has a good eye for how a movie should be filmed, he doesn't use any crazy camera movements to show action, and overall I was happy with how he made the movie. I had no real problems with his sense of direction.
**Casting: 5/5**. I love when a movie has a good cast. Jessica Chastain, Geena Davis, Common, Colin Farrell and John Malkovich are always good in whatever roles they are given.
**Acting: 5/5**. What makes a good movie to me is when you lose the actors in their roles. There were times when this did not happen in the movie, but it was very rare. For the most part, I believed everyone as the parts they played and not as the actors playing them.
**Music: 4/5**. The music in this movie isn't the type I would download the soundtrack for, but it did its job in blending in without being a distraction, giving scenes that little extra *umph* they would need.
**Cinematography: 5/5**. One of the most annoying things in recent action movies is the use of shaky-cam to give a feel of action. Thankfully, this movie did not use that. Scenes were shot well, and lighting was always perfect.
**Production Design: 5/5**. There did not seem to be too many built sets in this movie, which really helped because I'm sure this movie probably did not have a large budget. The sets they used were used well and helped bring the story together.
**Pacing: 5/5**. This movie did not drag like I was expecting it to. It moved a little slow but not at a pace where I kept wondering when the movie was going to end. Scenes seemed to be the perfect length to keep the story going without rushing through them or taking too long to get through.
**Enjoyment: 5/5**. To me, how much I enjoy a movie is one of the most important factors. I enjoyed this movie a lot. It was a good spy-assassin thriller with a low enough budget that not too many chances could be taken so the story had to come through. I debated on whether my enjoyment was 4/5 or 5/5, and it might change in the future, but for now, I really did enjoy this movie.

**special mix**
Double Scotch, but ice?! Well, some like it.
Part of the story is standard thriller fare by now - the professional assassin becoming hunted. Some over-the-top action scenes there.
Another part is the dysfunctional but caring family, with guilt, remorse, love, drama. Well played, but it's an unusual combination with the assassin story; and this special mix will appeal to some people - but my guess is: not many.
Good actors giving good performances, solid work from other departments. But I don't think script and direction were bringing their A-game.
The part I liked best were the close combat parts. These were worth watching, IMHO - the exhaustion that sets in, no matter how trained people are; well played, choreographed, and the make-up+fx departments did a good job as well.
I can't recommend this in general; you need to have some special taste to enjoy it. In which case, have fun. And you may like "Hummingbird (2013)".