Genre: Action/Sci-Fi
Director: Duncan Jones
Writer: Seth Overton
Based on the video game series
Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Rosamund Pike, Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, Cluadia Kim, Jamie Bell, Mike Colter, Aidan Gillen
Plot:
PAST
On a high-rise building with a sniping point to a park below, Thane (Mad Mikkelsen) readies his rifle against the target he was paid to kill: an old salarian war criminal who went into hiding. Unaware of the incoming hit, the salarian goes about his business of feeding the park's birds. The headshot is ready but a stranger suddenly appears in front of Thane's scope: the drell who would become his future wife, Irikah (Rosamund Pike). Irikah warns the salarian of the danger and gives him enough time to run while Thane recoils away from his gun.
PRESENT
Thane looks at a picture of his wife, while a tear rolls down his face. He enters the Omega Station, the hub of the most ruthless asari crime syndicate run by the notorious Aria T'Loak (Tilda Swinton). Thane is hoping to find out more about the location of the killer of his wife. Aria accepts, but only if Thane helps her kill another assassin, Kasumi Goto (Claudia Kim), who is pursuing another associate of her.
PAST
Thane is bewildered at his own emotions and the woman's actions. He resorts to tracking Irikah's activities as per his training, determined to know more about her. He gets his chance when two thugs break into Irikah's lab with the intent of torching it. Irikah's unarmed LOKI Mech assistant is useless against the intrusion, but Thane takes a moment to sneak in and dispatch the drell attacker before Irikah takes care of the turian one.
Irikah demands to know who Thane is, having determined he isn't one of the intruders. He confesses to be the sniper Irikah foiled earlier. She is about to call the lab's security when Thane pleads for redemption by her hand.
Over time, the two grow close together. Irikah eventually forgives Thane. Thane feels alive for the first time because of her, while Irikah receives his protection against further incursions.
PRESENT
As Kasumi walks through a dark alleyway, she gets the impression she is being followed. Thane attempts an ambush, but he is outsmarted. Kasumi is no longer where he thought she was. A game of cat and mouse ensues. He eventually finds her and with a gun to her temple, tells her that he is sorry and he's hoping she will rest in peace. Thane gets briefly distracted when getting a text from his estranged son, Kolyat (Jamie Bell), who is asking for help. Kasumi disarms him, kicks him in the stomach and runs away.
However, while Kasumi fought him off, Thane managed to plant a tracker on her. He calmly follows her, hoping to get this over with as soon as possible and see what his son needs help with.
He pinpoints her location in a nearby bar, he sits at her table and offers her a drink. He explains the reason he has to kill her. Kasumi reveals that her partner had been killed by Aria's associate, Donovan Hock (Aiden Gillian) and that she needs to retrieve an important relic from him that has a sentimental value. Thane emphatizes with her pain and agrees to make a deal. He will help her retrieve the relic and then stage her assassination. She would then have to go on the run. She agrees with the plan.
PAST
Following Irikah's advice, Thane seeks out his hanar handler and requests to be released from his Compact. The hanar is reluctant, warning him that not all are destined for happiness, but Thane convinces his handler he is willing to risk it. He returns to Irikah with the news, and weds her soon afterward.
Thane grows listless and uncertain as the freedom he sought isn't what he thought it would be. Irikah gives him a coin that once belonged to her father, for him to rub to help bring about peace of mind. Kolyat is eventually born to the family, and Thane struggles to make ends meet by taking on menial jobs as he doesn't have any civilian qualifications. He knows little of being a father, immersing himself in work instead of acknowledging his son.
Thane eventually returns to the life of killing, with Irikah's support. His jobs take him farther and farther away from his family despite his efforts to remain close.
PRESENT
Kolyat keeps dialing his father while nervously pacing in circles. Thane puts his hand on his shoulder, prompting a brief shriek of fear from Kolyat. He explains that he has joined a gang hired by the Shadow Broker to steal information about a mysterious Cerberus project called "The Ark". However, during their mission, they were attacked by a girl with biotic powers, he panicked and accidentally killed one of his own teammates. Since then, he is paranoid that the Shadow Broker will retaliate.
Thane stops him as he realizes they are being followed. He looks around, inspecting the surroundings for possible hiding spots. Suddenly, a masked man attempts to kill Kolyat, but Thane intervienes and kills the man with his blade. Kolyat takes his mask off. It is Hendel Mitra (Mike Colter), Gillian Grayson's protector. The girl watches from a nearby balcony, and runs away.
PAST
When Thane takes on a gang of batarian slavers, the retaliatory attack destroys his family.
The surviving slavers led by Stiv Kay (Ralph Fiennes) pay the Shadow Broker for Thane's identity. Too scared to take on Thane directly, the slavers wait until he was away to make a move on Kolyat and Irikah. Kolyat manages to hide, but of Irikah only the massive bloodstains on her home tell her fate.
Thane suffers a breakdown upon returning to his home. He hunts the culprits down one by one, letting them suffer slow tortuous deaths in contrast to his clean and efficient methods. Only one remains, their leader - Stiv Kay, who has gone into hiding.
PRESENT
In order to retrieve her partner's relic, Kasumi and Thane go undercover at a fundraiser organised at Donovan Hock's mansion. Kasumi goes as a snobby art collector, while Thane plays her bodyguard. They talk a bit with some of the guests in order to blend in, and have a conversation with Donovan himself who seems unaware of their real identities.
Thane creates a distraction in the main hall by starting a fire, while he sneaks into Donovan's underground warehouse to steal the relic. He is succesful, but when he comes back up he sees that Donovan and his crew are holding Kasumi at gunpoint, while all the other guests are gone. It seems that Aria had become aware of their plan and alerted her business associate.
Kasumi once again manages to disarm her attacker, and they both incapacitate Donovan and his goons. Thane takes Donovan to one of the rooms and interrogates him. Donovan gives out the hideout of Stiv Kay. After he finishes his interogation, Thane turns to Kasumi signalling that he's all hers to do as she pleases. Kasumi decides not to harm him and just takes the relic. She then agrees to help Thane avenge his wife, the same way he helped her.
When they arrive at the hideout, they discover that Stiv had asked Aria for protection. As they fight off Aria's crew, Kasumi notes that they make a good team. The usually stoic Thane betrays a quick smile. After they capture Stiv, Thane looks at him realising this is the moment he has been waiting for. However, in the last second, he thinks about how his wife never wanted this life for him. He looks at the coin she gave him and decides to give Kay to the authorities. Kasumi congratulates his restraint.
They both go back to the bar they had their first encounter in. They are joined by Kolyat, for whom Thane has obtained fake credentials and a safe passage out of Omega. Thane apologizes to his son, for not being there when he needed him, especially after his mother's death. He explains how he was blinded by his thrist for revenge, and in turn forgot about those close to him who still needed him. Kolyat forgives him.
As they share a drink, Thane's phone vibrates. He jokingly tells Kasumi that he turned off sound notifications on his phone, a callback to when he tried to assassinate her and was distracted by his phone. Kasumi laughs and asks how could a veteran assassin make such a rookie mistake.
Thane looks at his phone: "INCOMING CALL... COMMANDER SHEPARD." The screen fades as he responds.
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