Split Lip (2019) Online

When the movie started, I was truly captivated by the mysterious monologue that broke the fourth wall and I immediately knew I was in for a ride. Unfortunately, that ride felt less like a thrilling rollercoaster and more like I was a grown man riding a merry go round. From the outside it looks very bright and colorful, but once you're in, you realize you are on a slow and dull ride. Now don't get me wrong. Theres a lot that I really enjoy about this movie. Aside from a couple random shots, the cinematography was top notch. They really knew how to make boring scenery visually captivating. On top of that, the acting was just as incredible. The film truly shows how much undiscovered talent exists within the film industry. Every single role, lead or support, gave it there all in the making of this indie film. Lastly, the concept of the movie was incredible. They've created a wall full of assassins from all over the world and I wanted to learn more about every single one of them. Unfortunately, where the movie lacks is dialogue. Not that the dialogue is bad, although it was awkward at points, but that there was a lack of it. So much of the movie had no dialogue at all which is not always a bad thing, but it made an action movie feel extremely slow. Many of the shots stuck around a lot longer than my interest did, especially the incredibly uncomfortable desert dance scene. Also, I was really distracted by how unrealistic the foley was. Not only were sound effects repeated, but they seemed a little tacky. This was something that was most distracting when brass knuckles were used. Overall, I think with more work put into writing and cutting down longer shots this could have been a truly impressive independent movie. With that being said I see a lot of potential from everyone who was involved and am excited to see what they all work on in the future.

Set (Dorée Seay) has a split lip that bleeds when she smiles which isn't often. It is an occupational hazard when you are a freelance assassin. Set made a mistake on her last assignment and now professional assassins want her dead. They are nice enough to give her a head start. They tell her to go to Arizona where she would be hard to find. So she goes to Arizona and is really easy to find. Why? Because they knew she was in Arizona. She kills the assassins that come after her. She meets Samuel (Chris Labadie) who wants to help her and he doesn't die soon enough for me.

Samuel was an irritating character. Set gets punched in the face and head by a guy with arms as big as my thighs and she still has all her teeth and doesn't get knocked out. And her puny arm is stronger than his thigh-sized arm being able to hold back a knife. Much of the fighting wasn't choreographed like the early garage scene, it was done off camera. What was that whole white mask dance? The story was not well put together. Camera framing was lousy.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity. Set used as a punching bag.

Split Lip seems to fall victim to a filmmaker trying to do a little too much. An impressive undertaking to be sure; writing, shooting, directing, and editing, Sheffield appears to have bit off a little more than he can chew. Shots and scenes often drag on for longer than they should, as does the movie which could be 20 minutes shorter if shots weren't thought of as precious as they appear to have been. Action scenes are lost to quick cuts, uninspired sound design, and occasional flashes of a bright who-knows-what. Despite the cast seemingly giving it their all, tension is lost from the constant synth drones that don't allow the viewer to experience highs or lows with anything that may be happening.

The story, while basic, is harder to follow than it should be. The motivation for almost every character is lost and, while there's nothing wrong with a simple ex-hit(wo)man on the run story, this movie teases more depth than we get to see. Reveals happen too late and are almost too inconsequential to make up for the lack of plot preceding them.

All that being said, there is a lot of potential for what could have been here. The lead character Set, played by Dorée Seay, doesn't get to showcase what range she may have, falling victim to a lack of dialogue until a monologue at the very end. She holds her own in action scenes but the script never lets her character shine above her determined stare-downs.

The leader of the hitman organization, played by DeJean Brown, gets an introduction that promises more than he's ever allowed to deliver. He nails his expository monologues but the film seemingly ends before the story he's telling gets a satisfying conclusion.

"Sidekick" Samuel, played by Chris Labadie, lends the movie some much needed levity. While his character never exactly feels like he belongs in this movie, it makes me wish that the team had leaned into what he was doing even more and allowed for a movie this tonally dark to have a little more fun. His anxious excitement and comedic run-on quips, while potentially clashing with his dramatic lows, were a breath of fresh air.

While commendable for a small crew to just get a feature like this made, its one-note tone and lackluster script make it hard to recommend, especially with its runtime, but there may be a light at the end of the tunnel for all involved in their future projects.

The cinematography and the acting we're both top notch! Some of the fight scenes might strain credulity a little bit yet exciting and entertaining nonetheless. I absolutely loved the ending. A quality film, kudos to Christopher and the entire fast and crew!

Such a worst movie i have ever seen. Don't waste your time watching this.

Mesmerizing lead actress and plot holes you can drive trucks through

Set is an assassin whose made a mistake and hence becomes hunted with an array of killers on her trail. For 98% of the film guns are replaced with hand to hand combat to the death, well choreographed and totally engrossing. She meets Samuel a totally clueless nerd whose dialogue hurt my ears. He is 'helpful' once but otherwise has no place in this film.

Plot holes galore and for no reason at all. Example: At the outset of the film her boss, as a favor, suggests her best flight destination and, as she leaves, reminds her we are coming after you. Really, after he's told where to go? Plot holes get larger and more irritating as the film plays out. The finale, with an excellent action scene, is otherwise a mess. Almost none of it makes sense. Many rave about the 'original' ending and they are right but that is still part of a mess including erroneous dialogue.

All in all Set was Mesmerizing with her bloody, scarred face, from various battles, that showed throughout the film. She was an assassin ever ready bunny self described 'monster.'

Many times we think that a huge budget is required to make a worthy film, especially in the action genre. Split Lip proves this belief wrong. Lead Actress Doree gives a grounded, mysterious, intriguing performance. The action and plot is builds up so well right to the satisfying end, which I won't spoil ;)

Awesome indie action thriller featuring a strong female lead and an ethnically diverse fabulous cast. Can't wait to see it again.

First of all, I really enjoyed this movie. I was engaged the whole time and it felt like the right length for the story it was trying to tell.

The strongest part about it was the excellent emotional core of the story as told by the interactions between Samuel and Set. Their relationship being a tenuous friendship that feels like it could crash down at any moment. The ending and it's surprises are really satisfying too. Set's character traverses her arc quietly, but she does it powerfully, silently sucking the audience in to her almost Stygian self destruction. Meanwhile, Samuel is funny on purpose, which is hard to do, he is easily likable and offers much needed levity and a very thick and heavy emotional atmosphere without jarring the scenes too much.

For a film that's billed as a brawler type film, there aren't actually very many fights, and the fights themselves are filmed in a very western style, which means there's cuts before hits actually connect (maybe a limitation with actor safety and not having access to professional stunt people) but it makes the fights both hard to follow and feel less impact. I'd say this film was more of a drama with fights in it rather than a film about fighting.

There are also some strange plot points regarding the boss and the main character that honestly don't make sense.

The sister character (while very well acted) felt like she was built as a plot device to cause/stir up conflict rather than to be a part of the world.

The acting was great and the shots out of the fight scenes were gorgeous. The film doesn't rush itself which is great, and there are some very Blade Runner-esque shots of just holding on a character as they feel an emotion, which is awesome.

Overall, fixing up the shots in the fight scenes, and handling some of the plot threads with the boss and the sister slightly differently would crank this up to an 8 for me.

I am really excited to see what this group of people does next, and I'm really glad I got a chance to see this awesome movie on the big screen!