Erased (aka The Expatriate) (2012)

Director: Philipp Stölzl

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Nick Alachiotis, Liana Liberato

An ex-CIA agent and his estranged daughter are forced on the run when his employers erase all records of his existence, and mark them both for termination as part of a wide-reaching international conspiracy.

Is this a clichéd spy movie? Yes, it is. Have we seen this story before? Yes, we have. Yet, still I found it entertaining, and indeed very watchable.

Aaron Eckhart stars as Ben Logan, who recently started working at a division of the powerful Halgate Group, who manufactures high tech security products. When he notices a patent number error on one of their products, he informs his boss Derek Kohler. Ben lives with his teenage daughter Amy (Liana Liberato).

When Ben and Amy goes to his office a few days later to do a collection, he finds the entire floor where his company used to be, vacant, with no record of the company itself. When he discovers all his colleagues dead, they soon find themselves running for their lives as people try to kill them. To make matters worse, the police are after them as well after Ben kills a hired assassin. Not trusting the authorities, Ben does everything in his power to uncover the truth behind his company, and the people pursuing them.

Nothing is what it seems – not for Ben and not for the viewer either. There are so many twists, turns and reveals and all the while Ben and Amy are smack bang in the middle of everything. This is a very involved film with a lot happening, and loads of action from beginning to end.

Naturally, the premise is highly implausible, but it was thoroughly entertaining and I thought Aaron Eckhart did a great job as the protagonist. ‘Erased’ might not be as polished as the ‘Bourne’ films, but I believe it delivered. If action is what you’re looking for in compensation of a believable script, then this is a good choice.

Would I watch it again? Yes.