Michael Matteo Rossi's Chase

Cody takes a look at a crime thriller that is now available through Amazon Prime.

Writer/director Michael Matteo Rossi's indie crime thriller Chase feels like an answer to the question, "What if the lead character in Drive had been John Wick?" The film has a Drive sort of vibe at times, particularly the opening title sequence and a violent scene that's bathed in pink and blue lighting. The lead character is a Wick level badass, a professional killer who is very good at his job.

Unlike Wick, though, the lead here - Damien Puckler as the bearded, ripped, and eponymous Chase - is not a sympathetic protagonist. This guy is a coldblooded killing machine with only two redeeming qualities; his relationship with his girlfriend Blair (Jessica Morris), and the fact that he's raising a child he orphaned, Micah (Eli Michael Kaplan). Not even these elements of his personal life were enough to get me to care for him much because even though Micah has caused him to come up with the rule of "Never orphan a child", he still openly states that he can be hired to kill a child. He just charges triple his base rate for that. So he may love Blair and Micah, but Chase is still a monster.

Chase gets jobs through his longtime friend Miles, played by Aries Spears, who is best known for his comedy work. Spears gets to be funny here, and was probably ad libbing a lot of his dialogue, but he also proves to be a chilling villain, as he makes it quite clear that Miles is a very dangerous person. Miles is concerned that having Blair and Micah in his life is going to make Chase soft, and while that doesn't seem likely to happen he is right to be worried about the influence of Blair. She hates Miles and doesn't want Chase to associate with him anymore. She's okay with Chase killing people for money, since she's under the mistaken impression that he only kills bad people, but Miles really bugs her.

So Miles has to take the measures he thinks are required to ensure that Chase is going to remain a remorseless murderer. By doing this, he becomes Chase's latest target, and his hitman pal proceeds to kill his way up the ladder of Miles' organization. One person who will have to be dealt with along the way has the only beard in the movie that can compete with Puckler's; Miles' hulking lackey Sergey (Paul Duke), who smashes a man's head in with his fists and feet in his introductory scene.

Rossi obviously didn't have a ton of money to work with when making Chase, but that only results in the film being simple and quick. There aren't a lot of scenes or locations, but the film doesn't feel like it's lacking anything. The 82 minute runtime is all Rossi needed to tell an interesting, satisfying story.

Of course, there wasn't the budget at hand to do elaborate, Wick-esque action sequences, but the action is still there, and it was entertaining to watch Chase blast and beat his way through enemies. Sergey also gets to engage in a fist fight that feels completely gratuitous, but was appreciated.

I never liked Chase as a person, but I enjoyed watching his story. If you're into movies like Drive and John Wick, there's a good chance you'll like watching this one as well. Chase is available for viewing through Amazon Prime.