Ray Cooper (Momoa) and his daughter Rachel (Isabela Merced) mourn the death of Ray’s beloved wife, Amanda (Adria Arjona), who succumbs to cancer.
His wife was supposedly in line to receive a life-saving drug before she died. However, BioPrime CEO Simon Keeley yanked the drug from the market indefinitely. Ray savagely calls Simon after learning of this business decision and threatens to kill him if he does not change his mind.
BioPrime's decision was never overturned, and Ray now seeks retribution.
One day, he receives a call from Martin Bennett (Nelson Franklin), a journalist. He claims he has a story that will put powerful people in prison, however, he needs Ray’s story to do so.
Ray reluctantly agrees, but he soon finds himself in more trouble than he anticipated.
First-time full-length director Brian Andrew Mendoza is clearly trying to subvert some tropes by sprinkling a little drama on top of it, but that will not save this movie from its trifling and messy narrative.
“Sweet Girl” isn't tight enough to make you feel like the characters are in danger. It could be due to the film's sluggish editing or the fact that it spends the majority of its time establishing a nonsensical conspiracy theory. Either way, it's difficult to care if the story meanders so much.
Jason Momoa and Isabela Merced's dynamic as a father-daughter power duo appears to be very promising. Both actors demonstrate their acting prowess and abilities. However, due to an abrupt and cheap twist in the middle of the film, it all seems pointless.
In essence, “Sweet Girl” is predictable and forgettable. It's something we've seen many times before. Mendoza simply repeats the formula established by films such as "John Q" and "Hanna" without upping the stakes. This could have been better if Mendoza had capitalized on the drama more. But alas, he didn’t.
1.5/5
