The Man from Toronto, review: an explosive misunderstanding

The Man from Toronto, review

A failed forty-year-old, a hitman and a contract to carry out. If we had to use a few words to describe The Man From Toronto, these would be the most appropriate of the many that we could choose. We know, however, that we cannot limit ourselves to little when it comes to a film that wants to tell a story and do it with maturity, going well beyond the classicisms of the comic and adventure genre, when the desire to experiment is so irrepressible that it goes beyond the screen.

Let's cut the bull's head straight away, to begin with: if you loved the Kingsman trilogy, The Man from Toronto could make you remember it right from the start, because it starts immediately between fire and flames, not getting lost in too many frills. On the other hand, we could not expect anything else from its director, Patrick Hughes, known in Hollywood for "How I Kill Your Bodyguard", his most famous production, where Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson joined forces to propose a comic film and outside the box.

The Man from Toronto, produced by Netflix and written by Jason Blumenthal and Robbie Fox, joins the already excellent catalog of the US company, thickening the selection of comedy and action films giving a little 'fresh air after the misstep with Interceptor a few days ago.

“I'm the man from Toronto”

This will be the phrase you will hear more often once you have clicked on "Play" and you will be comfortable on the sofa eating chips and gulping down Coca Cola. But who is the man from Toronto? Simply a hitman in the pay of a mysterious woman named Deborah, (Ellen Barkin), a rich and merciless business woman. Known as Randy and portrayed for the occasion by Woody Harrelson (Planet of the Apes and Now You See Me), the man from Toronto is a name known to organized crime, politics and anyone who needs to make someone disappear.| ); }
At his antipodes is Teddy Nilson (Kevin Hart), a failure with the I dream of becoming an entertainment business man who lives for the day in a shop and dreams of marrying his beloved Ruth (Jasmine Matthews). Unlike Randy, Teddy is irresponsible, inadequate, incompetent and has a knack for always being in the wrong place at the wrong time, pissing anyone off and getting into trouble in the most unimaginable ways possible.




It is precisely on this that the entire story of The Man of Toronto bases the narration, with Randy behind the scenes as a perfect puppeteer while Teddy becomes a stunt double of the Toronto man, impersonating him and taking his place for much of the film to fool some shady dudes ready to detonate a bomb and with it a war. Just know that the story of The Man from Toronto is not all that different from the others we have approached over the last few months, yet it stages with conviction a story full of details capable of leaving its mark.

C ' it is always a world to save, mind you, but the reality we are talking about concerns both Randy and Teddy, both at the center of the story from beginning to end because they are involved in a succession of events that would be unmanageable for anyone. The real danger is not so much the crisis that could break out with yet another useless war between two countries, but their inner conflicts, highlighted by a relationship that evolves like the events that directly involve them.

The Man from Toronto is not the classic American comedy

The Man from Toronto, let's face it, makes you laugh out loud and knows how to tell a story with maturity. The ironic moments, however, are not pulled to the bone and the jokes, always fitting and spot on, give goliardic moments, which blend with the scenes we see on screen in a satisfactory way.

It is a story that takes its place. own time to come out, not going too long, not disdaining the classic reflective moments that distinguish American productions. The Man from Toronto shows a narrative evolution more focused on the protagonists and their stories than on the rest of the story, which passes through the entire second part of the film in the background compared to its initial idea, which is to put Teddy and Randy on the same level, with their objective differences and their thoughts as winning formulas for creating an even more enjoyable story.



Unlike many other action comedies, where the latter takes the lead. reins, The Man from Toronto plays with the protagonists and their feelings, leading the viewer to become attached to both. This is obviously both thanks to Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson, who proved to be very skilled actors once again proving a masterful performance. The story does not only stage cruel and violent fights, with adrenaline-filled scenes on a razor's edge, and is not satisfied with little, on the contrary: the direction was able to offer a comedy rich in nuances, changing the cards on the table and defining the characters in convincing way.

Not for nothing, it is their writing that has convinced us: even if Randy for most of the time he prefers to wear the shoes of the tough in the end he has a heart, and although Teddy makes us believe that he is the laughing stock of the situation is instead a protagonist with controfiocchi: he matures as soon as he realizes that it is impossible to remain fixated on a pipe dream that is leading nowhere.



The Man from Toronto is about two stories merging them into one, showcasing a tale of redemption involving both Randy and Teddy. It is the story of the least, of those who do not make it but, by engaging and winning, they become better people by remembering to be simple and capable of being able to live far from their own mental constructions. It is the umpteenth proof that sometimes you can dream big and that it takes very little to be happy, recognizing a friend even where you do not expect it.

From the United States to Puerto Rico ...

If the convincing narration and well-written protagonists were not enough to give you further confirmation of the good found within The Man from Toronto, Patrick Hughes has also carefully curated the choice of environments, proposing unmissable glimpses and impact. In that sense, we were struck by the enclosed spaces, where the camera focused on even the smallest details, including those we didn't think might have any importance.

When it moved to open environments it was even better: immersed as we were in history, thanks to the special effects in the well-chosen and never redundant action scenes, we were struck by the visual quality of the burning cars, the streets covered with corpses and the environmental damage that a simple car was capable of doing. From cities to highways, our protagonists have passed on a plane to get above skyscrapers, fleeing from someone on the Puerto Rican streets and in a bar to hide from a dangerous enemy called the Miami man. Exactly, yes, did you think the Toronto man was the only hitman around the world? There is also one from Tokyo, and it is not friendly at all!



The Man From Toronto is a story of redemption like many others which, however, offers protagonists with whom it is impossible not to create empathy, written and structured in a careful and painstaking way to remind us of a second and third vision. It's an easy-to-understand and accessible tale, with excellent evidence from the dynamic duo of Woody Harrelson and Kevin Hart, as well as the good directing work done by Patrick Hughes. Like every story it also has a moral, the most beautiful of all: it is not the past that defines who you are, but your present. And the present, as it is inevitable, is changeable and unpredictable. Like life.