Available since June 21, the Netflix film “Riposte”, starring Jessica Alba, is far from unanimously appreciated by subscribers… A quick tour of viewer reviews.
A month after the Atlas fiasco, Netflix is trying its luck again with Riposte, a new action film led by a badass female character. Jessica Alba, brought out of retirement for the occasion, plays a former military officer who returns to her hometown after the death of her father and discovers that he was in fact killed.
This feminine Rambo / John Wick directed by Indonesian director Mouly Surya is already at the top of the Netflix charts, beating the French blockbuster Sous la Seine. And yet, subscribers are not kind to the film and its main actress. With a disastrous rating of 1.7 out of 5, Riposte is one of the lowest rated Netflix productions of the year.
Spectators criticize it in particular for its overly simple scenario, its numerous inconsistencies and the quality of the direction. More generally, Netflix is having a hard time convincing with these latest films. And the reason is perhaps the following: with the writers’ and actors’ strike which stopped filming last year, the platform has less new stuff to offer.
And in these cases, you have to draw from the available stock. If Riposte was released on our screens in 2024, the film was shot… at the end of 2021. It has therefore been almost three years that Jessica Alba’s film has been waiting quietly in the drawer of big boss Ted Sarandos.
If that says a lot about its quality, it especially shows that Netflix keeps certain productions warm to release them when its line-up is a little light (this is notably the case of The Old Guard 2 with Charlize Theron which was filmed more than 2 years ago…).
What did viewers think of Riposte?
“Disastrous film, Netflix is once again trying fast food cinema with a film which will not make an impression in any way, except with these failed special effects which would almost give the impression that stabbings are harmless” (Kayzer10)
“It is appallingly poorly told, with the director making no effort to interest us in this dark story in which we end up completely losing interest. There remains Jessica Alba as an improbable badass whose charm prevents us from running away.” (Estonius)
“Boring, uninteresting film where talking is required and the action is often grotesque. Caricatured and forced performances. A scenario that no one believes. 1.5/5! (by being nice).” (Pascal I)
“”Ridiculous. This is the title of my review, this film makes no sense and has no credibility, how can you turn a fantasy into reality, men literally let it happen. Everything rings false and nothing makes sense in the scenario.” (Ja Z)
“…uh…no…I ONLY watched it for Jessica Alba, forever The Dark Angel…but, Netflix scenario, cardboard acting, no real stakes , sluggish action scenes, it doesn’t really take off, and even the heroine is disappointing, a mix between John Rambo and Jackie Chan… less talent… in short, move on” (IanB)
“Neither good nor bad. The scenario is on the level of WALKER TEXAS RANGER. Actors are the same… Entertaining? Distracting? Barely. Don’t waste your time, look at something else.”(Tupinier Olivier)
“What a Nanard. However, I am, was, a fan of Jessica Alba. But there, no. Except for the somewhat realistic fighting scenes, there is nothing. The scenario was written on a corner of the tablecloth after a well-watered meal. And above all, stop filming in the dark, it’s annoying. In short, go your way” (ChrisZeMoviesFan)
Riposte, watch on Netflix.