Tyler Perry’s Duplicity is the latest collaboration between the prolific filmmaker and Prime Video, and it follows a familiar pattern for anyone’s who’s watched his other work. The movie is a thriller that’s heavy on drama, struggles slightly with its character development, and throws in one last plot twist for shock value. It’s not Perry’s first foray into crime drama, but it shows that he has room to grow within that genre.

The film starts with the death of a Black man who is mistaken for a robber, and so at the beginning, Tyler Perry’s Duplicity wants to be a timely movie about police shootings. But then it transitions to a more standard thriller with predictably messy relationships. The charismatic and well-known cast, led by The Vampire Diaries star Kat Graham, sinks their teeth into all the drama, but they can only do so much in a movie that ultimately underwhelms.

Tyler Perry’s Duplicity Boasts an Engaging Cast

Kat Graham and Meghan Tandy Lead the Ensemble

The biggest reason to watch Tyler Perry’s Duplicity is the cast, who find ways to make their characters pop. Kat Graham leads the charge as Marley, a high-flying attorney who’s willing to go toe-to-toe with the city when her best friend Fela’s husband Rodney is shot and killed by the police. Marley wants justice for Fela, but also for all the other unarmed Black individuals who have been shot by police. Graham ably conveys that sense of conviction, and makes audiences want to root for her. If nothing else, this movie will make viewers see more of Graham’s range, and that she can branch out into more intense dramas.

Batwoman alum Meghan Tandy plays Fela, and she has a solid chemistry with Graham so that it’s believable Marley would go to such lengths for Fela. That friendship provides the early core of the movie, especially since Rodney isn’t on screen enough for audiences to make any kind of connection with him. In fact, since Rodney and Fela are not getting along when fans first meet them, Rodney comes across as a little snarky. This is contrasted by Tyler Lepley — who previously starred in Perry’s TV series The Haves and the Have Nots — as Marley’s charismatic and much more supportive boyfriend Tony. They seem like the perfect couple, which is an early clue that something is going to go wrong for them.

The core ensemble is rounded out by RonReaco Lee as Kevin. Not only is Kevin friends with the group, but he’s one of the officers involved in Rodney’s shooting, along with Caleb (played by Jimi Stanton). Duplicity trades heavily on Lee’s charisma and the fact that he’s normally played much lighter characters, such as Reggie Vaughn in Survivor’s Remorse. Even his dramatic roles are really good guys; he was recently seen as Agent Mike Brooks, Wes Mitchell’s tragically dead partner, in the FBI: International Season 4 premiere. So when Kevin ends up at the center of the shooting, viewers don’t think ill of him. Because people will like the cast, they won’t jump to too many conclusions about the characters, and that helps with an uneven script.

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Tyler Perry’s Duplicity Doesn’t Fully Earn Its Twist Ending

The Movie Wades Into Melodramatic Territory

The title Tyler Perry’s Duplicity tells viewers that there’s going to be some sort of a betrayal, which automatically means the big plot twist in the movie isn’t as impactful as it wants to be. It wants to be a jaw-dropping moment, but fans are really just waiting to see who around Marley turns out to be a villain. Without revealing who the guilty party or parties is, Duplicity also doesn’t quite lay the foundation for the chaos that erupts in the final 20 minutes. There’s plenty of suspense as Marley finds herself fighting for her life — and Kat Graham delivers as the heroine who will not stay down. The more strange things get around Marley, the more Graham steps up her performance, as if she’s building up the character as the movie builds to its climax.

That climax is definitely entertaining and features the film’s biggest action set piece. But it lacks the emotional impact to go with that. The best thrillers have a sense of connecting the dots, and this movie doesn’t have that. The characters wind up explaining some of how they got there, rather than the viewer being able to snap the last pieces together on their own to get that satisfying “aha” moment. What’s more, the explanation for Rodney’s death is a little bit underwhelming. It’s the most common of motives, which makes everything that came before seem like too much for something so simple. In any movie where there’s an ongoing plot, the reason for that manipulation should match the level of effort that went into it.

Perry’s script would have been stronger if it would have provided a little more detail earlier on. The critical scene in which Rodney is shot is pulled back on into a wide overhead view and then fairly quickly cut away from, so that audiences can’t see or hear what happens afterward. The details aren’t revealed until Caleb tells them to Marley, Sam and Shannon much later. But if that had all been shown to viewers instead of told, it would have not only made the shooting scene more intense, but made the original claim of police brutality seem that much stronger, thus creating more surprise for the audience in the fourth act. By keeping things vague to create a sense of mystery, Perry also keeps the audience from completely buying in to his narrative.

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Tyler Perry’s Duplicity Has a Message Too On the Nose

The Film Feels Like It’s Talking to the Audience

Tyler Perry’s Duplicity is fine as a straightforward thriller with a really good cast. There are plenty of uncomplicated thrillers that keep viewers entertained; Lifetime has made an entire brand out of its usually female-led thrillers (and that one movie with Will Ferrell). But what tries to push the movie onto another level, and what also makes it somewhat awkward, is tying the plot to the discussion about violence against Black people. That issue becomes part of the reason why things unfold the way they do, and Marley is understandably outraged by it. Some viewers may also find it controversial that Perry uses the weaponization of this problem as a plot point, considering how sensitive of a subject it is.

In fairness to him, Marley addresses that at one point in the film. However, that monologue — delivered to a news reporter — sounds like she’s speaking to the audience and giving them a little bit of a lecture. That’s the most prominent example of the movie getting up on a soapbox that it doesn’t necessarily need to be on. It’s admirable that Perry wants to draw attention to the subject, but it doesn’t really mesh with the plot twists that viewers want to see from his projects. If Duplicity had been a different movie about Marley just campaigning for justice in Rodney’s death, then it would be a better platform for the timely topic. But trying to also make that part of the mystery muddles the water.

Perry does deserve credit for the diversity in the movie, because the White characters are not stereotyped and in fact, have their own significant roles to play. Stanton is wonderful as Caleb, elevating the “wide-eyed rookie cop” archetype into something different by the end, and The Oval veteran Nick Barrotta makes an impression as Fela’s producer Sam. All the actors come to play. It’s the script that just misses its marks, which keeps Tyler Perry’s Duplicity from being anything more than a breezy escapist watch.

Tyler Perry’s Duplicity is now streaming on Prime Video.