Pilgrimage will be known as “that movie where the Punisher fights alongside monk Spider-Man”.  By that, I mean Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Homecoming) and Jon Bernthal (Netflix’s Daredevil and The Punisher) have starring roles in Brendan Muldowney’s action/drama about a monastery’s dangerous mission.

This is the part in the review where I try to elevate the film past its gimmicky trivia, but I can’t.  Pilgrimage is a pedestrian flick with its only interesting detail being its well-performed cast.  Nonetheless, I’m sure movie goers looking to be preoccupied by merciless action will accept the film.

The film’s story of faith takes a sharp turn when a group of monks – hand-picked by their monastery – are attacked while on a quest to deliver a holy relic to Rome.  Before this sequence of intense violence, Pilgrimage is a stoic, dialogue-heavy film. It’s very dry, but Jamie Hannigan’s screenplay isn’t willing to shortchange any characterization.  The audience gets a full grasp of these loyal characters, but Hannigan’s writing tends to be too dense to invest in.  At least when the movie turns into a gritty slice of schlock, viewers are engaged in exciting choreography and high stakes.

With only a couple of feature films in his career, some may still consider Brendan Muldowney an amateur.  However, Pilgrimage shows brute potential from the filmmaker who could have a very fruitful future in the action genre.

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Addison Wylie: @AddisonWylie