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Message from the King

Message from the King

Action · Mystery · Thriller · 2017

On a relentless quest to avenge his sister's murder, a man from Cape Town infiltrates a sprawling network of lowlifes and elites in Los Angeles.

Movie details

Message from the King

2017 Action · Mystery · Thriller 1h 42m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.4 / 10

18.4K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

50 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

40 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

On a relentless quest to avenge his sister's murder, a man from Cape Town infiltrates a sprawling network of lowlifes and elites in Los Angeles.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Message from the King?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Engineer

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The Black Book

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Shade

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Action · 2003

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Foxy Brown

Foxy Brown

Action · 1974

A voluptuous black woman takes a job as a high-class prostitute in order to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend.

Trespass

Trespass

Action · 1992

Two Arkansas firemen, Vince and Don, get hold of a map that leads to a cache of stolen gold in an abandoned factory in East St. Louis. What they don't know is that the factory is on the turf of a local gang, who come by to execute one of their enemies. Vince sees the shooting, the gang spots Vince, and extended mayhem ensues. As Vince and Don try to escape, gang leader King James argues with his subordinate Savon about how to get rid of the trespassers.

Night Train

Night Train

Action · 2023

Mother Holly McCord is driven to extremes to save the life of her young son. Even if it means hauling black market drugs in her souped-up truck, with the Feds in hot pursuit. With two bounties on her head and her son’s life on the line, Holly climbs behind the wheel of “Night Train,” ready to outrun, out gun, and outlast them all.

War

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Action · 2007

FBI agent Jack Crawford is out for revenge when his partner is killed and all clues point to the mysterious assassin Rogue. But when Rogue turns up years later to take care of some unfinished business, he triggers a violent clash of rival gangs. Will the truth come out before it's too late? And when the dust settles, who will remain standing?

1992

1992

Crime · 2024

In 1992, Mercer is desperately trying to rebuild his life and his relationship with his son amidst the turbulent Los Angeles uprising following the Rodney King verdict. Across town, another father and son put their own strained relationship to the test as they plot a dangerous heist to steal catalytic converters, which contain valuable platinum from the factory where Mercer works. As tensions rise and chaos erupts, both families reach their boiling points when their worlds collide.

Bunraku

Bunraku

Thriller · 2010

In a world with no guns, a mysterious drifter, a bartender and a young samurai plot revenge against a ruthless leader and his army of thugs, headed by nine diverse and deadly assassins.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Fabrice Du Welz

Written by

Oliver Butcher · Stephen Cornwell

Chadwick Boseman

Chadwick Boseman

Jacob King

Luke Evans

Luke Evans

Wentworth

Alfred Molina

Alfred Molina

Preston

Teresa Palmer

Teresa Palmer

Kelly

Natalie Martinez

Natalie Martinez

Trish

Chris Mulkey

Chris Mulkey

Leary

Drew Powell

Drew Powell

Merrick

Court is in session

Put Message from the King on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.