Awaken (2015) | Movie Review

RUN! Those are the directions Billie Kope gets as she stumbles into the woods of an island she just woke up on. She doesn’t know the people prodding her to run. She doesn’t know who the mysterious paramilitary men chasing her are, either. Hell, she doesn’t even know how she got there – wherever ‘there’ is. Her instinct is to run and figure things out later.

Billie (Natalie Burn) has a background in the Russian Special Forces and uses said ‘skills’ to help find her sister that has been missing, all the while trying to figure out this mysterious circumstance she has stumbled into. Touching on the dirty underworld of human trafficking, “Awaken“ brings to mind movies such as “Surviving The Game” or some of the Saturday morning action movies that aired during the 80’s.

The good was seeing actors such as David Keith and Michael Pare add to the story instead of just filling space. For far too long, these two have been wasted in bit parts and it is refreshing to have them back. Burn displays her athleticism and fighting prowess with believability. She handles the action swiftly and smoothly conveys a bad ass who has been training and strengthening her skills for years, yet, to my knowledge, she has no background in martial arts. A one-time ballerina, Burn is an action hero in the making.

“Awaken” isn’t without its flaws. There are some slightly distracting scenery transitions where landscapes don’t match up very well; Daryl Hannah is a shadow of herself as a menacing villainess that for some reason everybody is afraid of; and an awkward romance that comes across just a bit too forced and ultimately unnecessary. There were other storylines in the film I would’ve rather seen expanded on with these others lessened or removed. Overall though, “Awaken” is good, pulpy fun.

“Awaken“ showcases names such as Daryl Hannah, Vinnie Jones, Edward Furlong and Jason London. However, the real star here is Natalie Burn. The former ballet dancer from Kiev, Ukraine has not only choreographed for acts such as Nelly and Paula Abdul, but she has parlayed her mastery of five languages into landing roles in movies such as Expendables 3. Burn not only stars, she also wrote and produced “Awaken” through her production studio 7 Heaven Productions. The more interesting story at play here of a Ukranian dancer turned Hollywood mini-mogul is a very inspirational one, and one we could all learn a lesson from: Don’t just follow your dreams. Chase them!

Watch the trailer for Awaken

Starring Natalie Burn, Edward Furlong, Daryl Hannah
Written by Natalie Burn, Mark Atkins, Scott Martin, Ryan Priest, Michael Thomas Slifkin
Directed by Natalie Burn

Brian Williams
The Hollywood Outsider