Expired (2022) – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)

Expired will likely be one of the most dreary films you could ever see that didn’t involve watching someone be traumatized.

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Director(s)	Ivan Sen
Screenplay By	Ivan Sen
Date Released	3/18/2022
Where To Watch	Video On Demand
Genre(s)	Action, Crime, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Non-English (Chinese)
Duration	1 Hour 42 Minutes
Content Rating	Rated R
Noted Cast
Jack	Ryan Kwanten
April	Jillian Nguyen
Dr. Bergman	Hugo Weaving

Film Summary

In the future, we watch a man named Jack, abandoned by all who he has loved or could love, fall for a Vietnamese immigrant named “April.” But, because of experiments done on Jack as a child, he has an adverse reaction to falling in love with her, leading him to hope Dr. Bergman could potentially fix what some see as a miracle.

Things To Note

• Reason(s) for Film Rating: Violence (Gun Shots, Showing of Bullet Wounds), Miscellaneous (Vomiting)

Character Descriptions

Please Note: This character guide is not an exhaustive list of every cast member, and character descriptions may contain what can be considered spoilers.

Jack

Sold by his mother and partly raised by a stranger who abandoned him, Jack has lived his life primarily numb and has made ends meet by killing people for hire.

April

A Vietnamese immigrant from a small village, April struggles to make money to take care of herself, but thanks to Jack’s kindness, she finds herself finding where they are in China a little less lonely.

Dr. Bergman

A doctor who is assumed dead, Jack goes to him as he begins to experience unexplainable pains and thinks he might be the only one who can fix him. Maybe even explain the odd people who seem to be tracking him.

Review

Low Points

It’s So Dreary and Full of Brooding That Watching It Sometimes Feels Sleep Inducing

Expired has a tone throughout in which everyone is either speaking like they are brooding or whispering and even when there is the occasional threat on someone’s life, that doesn’t become the jolt you expect it to be. Rather, it is treated as lifeless as most of the performances are.

And mind you, could there be interesting things to Expired? Yes. Jack’s story of being a kid without secure connections, who lives in a world where a mother would sell her son before he was even born could draw interest. Also, there is something charming about Nguyen that makes you think that if she could raise the volume of her voice and not speak in whispers and hushed tones, maybe you might want to invest in whatever could be between April and Jack.

Heck, considering Jack’s line of work, and him apparently being stalked, and how Dr. Bergman may have some knowledge of why there is something there that could have added some spark. Yet, in the film pursuing longing and maintaining a dreary vibe that could make you sleepy, it avoids most of the storylines that could have made this something to watch.

Overall

Our Rating: Negative (Acquired Taste)

Like any film given a negative rating, the rating is more about the frustration from completed avoided opportunities than this being just a bad film. But in trying to give Expired perhaps some sort of noir vibe, all parties involved create the kind of film that makes you sleepy in the worst way, for it makes you feel tired like you overslept and didn’t get any good rest.

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