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Veteran actor Mel Gibson has been in the industry for almost five decades. He has dabbled in various genres and has also gone behind the camera and directed some truly epic films. From biblical epics such asThe Passion of the Christto war dramas likeHacksaw Ridge, the filmmaker/actor has done it all.
However, he may have lost a considerable fanbase after his recent action filmOn The Line. The action thriller found a new lease of life after coming on Netflix and has been annoying audiences ever since. The film’s B-movie treatment and the ridiculous multiple twist-endings have fans outraging on the Internet.
Mel Gibson’sOn The LineP*sses Off Fans
Mel Gibsonhas been a controversial filmmaker and actor. While his multiple legal troubles and controversial films have been at the forefront, he was known for his action-hero persona in the ‘80s, especially with theLethal Weaponfranchise. He continued to be in action films such asThe Expendables 3and more.
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However, Gibson’s goodwill may have run out after his 2022 action thrillerOn The Linerecently resurfaced after its Netflix debut. The film sees Gibson play the role of a Shock Jock on the radio, who goes for a graveyard shift at the station and finds an anonymous caller threatening to kill his family and blow up the station if he does not do some tasks.
While the premise was interesting, manyfans seemed to be annoyedat the multiple twist endings that revealed that all the events of the film were a prank played by Gibson’s character on the intern. Fans were even more annoyed when it was revealed that the intern himself played a prank on Gibson for his birthday when he was shown to have died.
So like The Game but very awful?
-Jedd-the-Jedi
I just watched it and totally agree, that was the worst fcking ending to a movie I have ever seen in my entire life. I am personally offended I just spent time watching that. Awful. Truly fcking awful.
-Novel-North-9284
I’ll be honest, during the first 20 minutes I was pretty intrigued, but it gradually lost the thrill and general excitement until finally, the end came, where this movie crashed and burned… it gave me a feeling similar to the feeling other moves give when it’s obvious that the writers hit a wall in the story and didn’t know where to go our get over it, so they just end it there.
This movie summoned an anger within me that I’ve rarely seen from myself. I wanted to cancel Netflix on the spot just to blame someone for this atrocity.
-BMactennis
I just watched this movie and I deliberately looked for a Reddit post about it so I can come and say how incredibly annoying and stupid the movie was. What a waste.
-Otherwiseaware
While some compared the film to David Fincher’sThe GameandSleuth, many seemed to have hated the film. However, some did find the twist ending unpredictable and hence, felt that it fulfilled the requirement.
Mel Gibson’sOn The LineCo-Star Called The Film’s Script A Magic Trick
From reading all the reactions to Mel Gibson’sOn The Line, it is safe to say that the film was not a crowd-pleaser. Its initial release in 2022 also did not see a good box office performance, with its collections amounting to $743K worldwide (viaThe Numbers). ItsRotten Tomatoesscore has a critical rating of 20%.
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However, actor William Moseley, who played Dylan a.k.a Max, the intern who gets pranked by Mel Gibson in the film, mentioned that the script played out like a mime and required a French director like Romauld Boulanger to make it. He said toPop Culturalist,
I read the script. It read like a magic trick. It was one reveal after the next. It lent itself very much to the French vaudeville style of mimes, which they do so cleverly. It’s that misdirection and illusion energy, which is why a French writer-director made such a good movie out of that script.
The actor also mentioned that he accepted the script even before reading it initially as he knew that Gibson was attached to it.
On The Lineis available to stream on Netflix.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2417
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
