PLOT: Shaw has loved Rule since she saw him, but Rule doesn’t see her as a suitable match, but a night of drinking and secrets leads them to question if they can be together without ruining their relationship…or each other.
REVIEW: The theater experience has struggled over the years, with mid-budget comedies and romance films being the biggest victims. The solution to this has been to release the films for a limited time in theaters via a company like Fathom or Icon Events. And it seems to give films that would usually be relegated to streaming, a chance at success in theaters. Marked Men: Rule + Shaw is probably a film that should have just stayed streaming as it’s a sadly hollow experience.
Marked Men: Rule + Shaw is the story of—surprise, surprise—Rule and Shaw, two people who have known each other most of their lives, are attracted to each other, but haven’t gotten together for reasons. Rule is the stereotypical “bad boy your mother warns you about” and Shaw feels like she’s too young for the subject matter. Rule works at a tattoo shop, so a lot of the film takes place in and around that location. I’ve never gotten a tattoo but I imagine if tattoo artists were as cringy as they are in this film, there’d sadly be fewer tattoos around.
Ever since the first season of Outer Banks, the internet has been obsessed with Chase Stokes. While he’s undoubtedly handsome, he’s never really been able to put together a layered performance. And while the writing does him no favors here, he does a good job of getting the most out of the material. On the page, Rule essentially becomes an entirely different person depending on the scene. He’s hotheaded and a jerk one moment, and incapable of violence the next. Sydney Taylor is fine as Shaw, but the character’s immaturity is doing her no favors. At least she and Stokes have decent chemistry.
There’s a problem that often comes with these adaptations in terms of the unnatural progression of the plot. Having to shove these stories into 90 minutes means it moves at an insane pace. Breakups, getting back together, engagements, all in the blink of an eye. An hour in, the story tries to go Romeo and Juliet, with Rule and Shaw’s social status suddenly becoming an issue when it was simply presented as a personal. The things that happen in this feel straight out of a bad romance novel… which I suppose it is. It’s so over the top that I couldn’t help but laugh at some of the insane events unfolding before me.
There’s a bit of sloppiness with the filmmaking at times, with shots being out of focus or very obvious ADR where the lipsync doesn’t match. I’ve never been so distracted with the terrible focus-pulling but it really stands out. I love director Nick Cassavetes, but he seemed asleep at the wheel here. The dialogue is brutally bad with lines such as “It’s not like you like him do you? You do!” really getting across the subtlety on display. One of the only natural moments occurs when Natalie Lynd convinces Rule to pursue Shaw. Unfortunately, Lynd is hardly in the film and the moment passes in an instant. There are some intriguing elements, like the loss of Rule’s brother which clearly affected the dynamics of his family. But this and moments like it are pushed aside for more absurd fare.
Marked Men: Rule + Shaw feels like a brief idea that was then expanded into a full-length feature film. Moments feel completely contradictory to those that precede them all while managing to hit nearly every stereotypical story beat you can imagine. I’m sure fans of Stokes will still show up and have a good time, but those looking for a satisfying film experience better look elsewhere.
MARKED MEN: RULE + SHAW IS ONLY IN THEATERS ON JANUARY 22ND AND 23RD, 2025.
