Review: There’s nothing redeeming or thrilling about ‘Redemption Day’

The Times is committed to reviewing theatrical film releases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, his star turn in the abduction thriller “Redemption Day,” the feature directing debut of Moroccan producer Hicham Hajji, is not the tool to excavate that something. There’s not a thrill to be found in this ostensible thriller, a rote kidnapping exercise taped together with digital blood spatter and an overly dramatic score, vaguely gesturing at global crises from five years ago. It’s never quite explained, despite opening title cards proclaiming the power and importance of oil, and an inexplicable 11th-hour appearance from a Foghorn Leghorn-accented oil lobbyist in full Colonel Sanders get-up who confirms its undue influence. It’s easy to harp on the production issues that plague “Redemption Day” because there’s not much else to think about with a story this flat.