Blake Lively has tackled a variety of roles on the big screen since her Gossip Girl days. Towards the end of her run on The CW show, she took on Green Lantern and Savages, and after the show was over, she starred in The Age of Adaline, The Shallows and A Simple Favor, roles that couldn’t be more different from each other. And now she’s doing it again with The Rhythm Section, a revenge thriller that finds her desperate to kill those responsible for her family’s death. Watch the new The Rhythm Section trailer that finally explains the title’s meaning.
Jude Law gets much more of a spotlight this time as the man who trains Blake Lively to act on her anger and kill those responsible for crashing the plane that her entire family was on. It all feels rather typical of the kind of spy thrillers that recruit agents after moments of tragedy in order to capitalize on their loneliness and bitterness. But The Handmaid’s Tale executive producer and director Reed Morano does seem to bring a little more grittiness and realism to the proceedings as the film’s director.
Blake Lively’s role as Stephanie Patrick is actually a recurring character in a series of novels by Mark Burnell. This one is the origin story for the character, who could become the female response to Jason Bourne or Jack Ryan. In fact, we’re betting that it will be more along the lines of the former, since it’s more than likely that Jude Law will end up betraying Blake Lively at some point, effectively completing her training.
Will this be the start of a new franchise? Are there enough Stephanie Patrick fans out there in order to make this a hit? There’s not much competition in January so it’s certainly possible.
