Name: The Best Man
Genre: Action, Thriller
Released: 2023-04-21T00:00:00+00:00
Cast: Brendan Fehr, Dolph Lundgren, Luke Wilson, Nicky Whelan, Scout Taylor-Compton

The opening shot of Shane Dax Taylor’s The Best Man (2023) is a brutal one: a wedding cake smashed against the face of a mercenary, frosting splattering like blood. It’s a moment that promises chaos and dark humor, but unfortunately, the film stumbles to deliver on either front consistently. Taylor’s action-thriller throws us into a remote resort hotel where a wedding turns into a nightmare when mercenaries seize control. The premise is ripe for tension and dark comedy—think Wedding Crashers meets Die Hard—but the execution falls short.

The film’s strongest moments come from its central trio: Brendan Fehr as the best man Bradley, Luke Wilson as the groom Cal, and Dolph Lundgren as their drunken best friend Anders. Their dynamic has potential, especially Lundgren’s physical comedy, which shines in a few standout scenes. However, the script squanders these opportunities with underdeveloped character arcs and predictable dialogue.

The action sequences are the film’s weakest link. Taylor attempts to balance humor and intensity, but the pacing is uneven. A chase scene through the hotel’s kitchen, for example, feels rushed and sloppily edited, lacking the precision needed to sell the stakes. The mercenaries, led by Scott Martin as Axel, are forgettable antagonists—largely due to their one-dimensional writing—and their motives remain unclear.

Where The Best Man does succeed is in its use of setting. The remote resort hotel provides a claustrophobic atmosphere that heightens tension, and the film’s production design effectively sells the isolation. However, even this strength is undercut by a reliance on genre tropes. The script leans heavily on clichés—drunken best friends with hidden skills, last-minute heroics—and fails to subvert expectations in meaningful ways.

Performances are a mixed bag. Fehr and Wilson carry the emotional weight of the story, but their characters lack depth beyond their roles as groom and best man. Lundgren is the standout, bringing a rare charm to his scene-stealing moments, though even he can’t elevate the material significantly. Nicky Whelan as Brook and Scout Taylor-Compton as Hailey have little to do but scream and react, reducing their characters to damsels in distress.

The film’s originality suffers from its reliance on familiar storytelling beats. While it tries to carve out a niche by blending action with dark comedy, the execution feels derivative. The humor often falls flat, and the thriller elements lack the suspense needed to keep audiences engaged. Even the title The Best Man feels like a missed opportunity—an homage to past films that this one fails to live up to.

The film’s themes of friendship and loyalty are buried under a mountain of genre conventions. The mercenaries’ takeover could have been an opportunity to explore deeper ideas about trust and betrayal, but the script never delves beyond surface-level conflict. The wedding setting, which could have added emotional weight to the stakes, is largely ignored in favor of generic action set pieces.

Taylor’s direction lacks a distinct visual style, relying on standard coverage and uninspired framing. Even the film’s few attempts at stylistic flourishes—such as a slow-motion shot of a broken champagne bottle—feel out of place rather than purposeful. The sound design is similarly unremarkable, with gunfire and explosions blending into a generic action-movie soundtrack.

The film’s pacing is another issue. The first act moves too slowly, spending too much time establishing the wedding festivities before the mercenaries arrive. Once the action begins, the momentum never fully recovers, leaving the middle act feeling disjointed. The climax, while visually impressive, lacks the emotional payoff needed to make it satisfying.

The Best Man is a film that tries to be many things at once—a dark comedy, an action thriller, a character-driven drama—but ultimately fails to excel in any of them. It’s a missed opportunity for Taylor and his cast, who clearly have talent but are let down by weak writing and uninspired direction.

For fans of genre films, The Best Man might offer some fleeting entertainment, but it’s unlikely to leave a lasting impression. Those looking for something more substantial will find the film disappointing.