Review by Bradley Smith
Once upon a time, John Travolta and Morgan Freeman (and just about everyone else involved) independently were huge box office draws. But times change, apparently. Now, for their first on screen collaboration, The Poison Rose got a limited release in theaters and practically went straight to digital on-demand platforms; typically, not a great sign for the quality of a movie or support from the studio(s) behind the films. However, I did not think it was all that terrible. It has an intriguing, albeit not very captivating, mystery told in a modern noir style with a fair enough number of twists to keep one guessing. Plus, there’s subplots about Travolta’s character revisiting his past and pretty calmly discovering something that would shock me to my core (for multiple reasons).
Carson Philips (John Travolta) is a Los Angeles private investigator who accepts what he believes to be a simple missing persons case that takes him back to his hometown of Galveston, Texas. As the investigation evolves into more than meets the eye, Philips must confront his past and his former lover (Famke Janssen; X-Men), along with a crime boss (Morgan Freeman), a suspicious doctor (Brendan Fraser; The Mummy, Scrubs), a night club singer (Kat Graham; The Vampire Diaries) and a plethora of other shifty characters portrayed by Peter Stormare (John Wick 2, Prison Break), Robert Patrick (Terminator 2, X-Files), and Ella Bleu Travolta (Old Dogs). Most of the characters are barely developed aside from what is needed for the story, twists, and drama at hand.
So many great actors featured in this film. Their acting abilities are still top notch and are at least partially tapped for this movie; it is borderline disappointing to see some of these actors being underutilized. Travolta provides the classic noir, somewhat soothing, voice over. In the unlikely event the plot gets too confusing or a loose thread is not fully followed, the narration from Carson will point you back in the right direction. As I stated earlier, the plot is not especially captivating. Most of the twists just sort of happen and may elicit an “oh… ok” response.
And “ok” would be my overall response to the film. Another middle of the road film, not going to win awards, but, in my opinion, does not deserve the 0 that it currently has on a certain food-based review site. There is some action, mostly in the form of shootouts that border on the silly or mundane, and very minimal comic relief. Some scenes feel rushed, but it had potential that some audiences may still see. While I cannot say the same for Freeman, this is one of Travolta’s best films that I have seen in a while (note that I have seen more of Freeman’s work in the last decade or so than I have Travolta’s).
