The film also has fun with tempo. Quiet, almost domestic interludes — McCall cooking, visiting a library, mentoring coworkers — build empathy and make the violence resonate. When it happens, it hits harder precisely because the character we’ve come to respect uses brutality not as a release but as an instrument of necessary justice. The score and sound design amplify this contrast: silence and mundane sounds give way to sudden, visceral impacts.
The film also has fun with tempo. Quiet, almost domestic interludes — McCall cooking, visiting a library, mentoring coworkers — build empathy and make the violence resonate. When it happens, it hits harder precisely because the character we’ve come to respect uses brutality not as a release but as an instrument of necessary justice. The score and sound design amplify this contrast: silence and mundane sounds give way to sudden, visceral impacts.