Security

Synopsis

Security (2017) stars Antonio Banderas as Eddie Deacon, a tough, no-nonsense former cop who now works as a mall security guard. When a young woman connected to a dangerous crime becomes the target of a violent criminal gang, Deacon is thrust into a desperate mission to protect her. As the attackers close in — including corrupt officers and hired thugs — Deacon must use his training, wits and raw determination to hold the line in an increasingly claustrophobic, high-stakes standoff inside the mall. The film blends close-quarters action, tense set-piece confrontations and personal stakes, concentrating on a single-location siege that tests the hero’s courage and resourcefulness without resorting to elaborate subplotting. It’s a lean thriller built around Banderas’s watchful lead performance, physical action beats, and escalating peril for the characters trapped within the mall’s confines.

Cast

• 

  Antonio Banderas

  Eduardo 'Eddie' Deacon

• 

  Ben Kingsley

  Charlie

• 

  Liam McIntyre

  Vance

• 

  Chad Lindberg

  Mason

• 

  Gabriella Wright

  Ruby

• 

  Cung Le

  Dead Eyes

Reviews

Critical reception for Security was mixed-to-negative, with many reviewers praising Antonio Banderas’s committed lead performance and the film’s tense, contained action, while criticizing the thin script, familiar genre beats, and heavy reliance on violence over character development. On IMDb the film holds a user rating of 5.8/10. Rotten Tomatoes registered a low critics’ score, reflecting a largely unfavorable critical consensus that the movie rehashes routine action-thriller tropes; many critics wrote that the film delivers bursts of physical intensity but leaves too little depth beyond the set pieces. Metacritic’s aggregated score similarly placed Security in the below-average range, indicating generally unfavorable reviews from mainstream outlets. Positive notes in several reviews singled out Banderas’s charisma as a stabilizing force — reviewers observed that he brings gravitas and plausibility to an otherwise formulaic plot — and some critics conceded the film succeeds at delivering compact, visceral action sequences that will satisfy viewers looking for a straightforward, single-location thriller. Conversely, detractors argued the screenplay relies on clichés (vigilante tropes, cardboard villains, and predictable twists) and that supporting characters are underwritten; a common criticism was that the film prioritizes blunt-force action over coherent motivation or originality. Overall, Security is often described as watchable for genre fans and Banderas supporters but falls short of elevating itself beyond standard action-thriller fare: effective in short bursts, but largely unmemorable in its storytelling and character work.