STANDOFF (2016) *** ½

Standoff has a thin, but admittedly gripping premise.  An assassin (Laurence Fishburne) chases a young girl (Ella Ballentine) who saw him perform a hit to the two-story farmhouse owned by the reclusive Carter (Thomas Jane).  Guns are drawn, shots are fired, and the two men lay at opposite ends of the stairwell bleeding; waiting for the other to make the next move.  

I’m a sucker for one-location movies.  I like seeing if the filmmakers can keep up the suspense out of what’s an essentially three-person play.  Part of the fun of Standoff is marveling how first-time director Adam Alleca (who wrote the Last House of the Left remake) is able to keep the premise crackling right along.  Just when you think he’s milked the plot for all it’s worth, he introduces a new wrinkle into the mix to keep you on your seat.

It also helps that the two leads are perfectly cast.  Jane always excels at these down and out types of roles, and this is no exception.  His character is a good man trying to do the right thing, even if it might get him killed, and because of his simple, heartfelt motivation, we instantly care about him.  Many actors would’ve had a hard time with the thinly written killer role, but Fishburne is more than up to the challenge making the character sinister yet entertaining to watch.  Seeing how the two men react to one another’s unexpected resourcefulness, especially when it becomes clear that Jane is more than just your average farmer, is yet another reason why Standoff stands heads and shoulders above your typical low budget actioner.  The performers find a lot of nuance in their characters and flesh them out to become fully three-dimensional, an impressive feat considering they spend a lot of time spouting exposition and barking orders.  Their final scenes even manage to be unexpectedly moving.

Alleca gets excellent mileage from the slim premise, (mostly) single setting, and the sterling performances.  The suspense only occasionally slows during the unnecessary scenes of a wet behind-the-ears deputy investigating Fishburne’s whereabouts.  These brief scenes could’ve easily been trimmed, and no one would’ve noticed.  When it stays on the staircase, Standoff stands out.