Film

Tracers

Name: Tracers
Genre: Action
Released: 2015
Cast: Taylor Lautner, Marie Avgeropoulos, Adam Rayner, Rafi Gavron, Sam Medina

Car-chase action
Relentless

Tracers is a parkour-fuelled action film where a bike messenger on the run discovers himself through rooftop chasing and urban movement. It's visually kinetic and built around impressive physical sequences rather than narrative depth. For viewers who want to watch people move through cities in gravity-defying ways, or who enjoy action that prioritizes spectacle over plot.

TMDb rating

3.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you care more about bodies in motion over rooftops and alleys than about a tight plot, and you enjoy a lean chase movie that keeps stunts front and centre.

Skip it if the story is slight and the talk is thin, so if you need character depth or a plot that survives scrutiny, the running will not fill the gap.

What it asks of you: It is short and brisk, asking little beyond your eyes; it sprints from one set-piece to the next and rarely pauses to breathe.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Point Break1991

An adrenaline-soaked action film where athletic prowess and spiritual connection intertwine. The chases and set-pieces are genuinely thrilling, and there's genuine affection between its leads that grounds the mayhem.

But Deeply of its era in ways that don't always age gracefully. The dialogue can be clunky, and the gender politics are dated.

Jason Bourne2016

Kinetic, expertly choreographed action that uses the city as a playground. Matt Damon runs, fights, and drives with real purpose, and Paul Greengrass shoots it all with electrifying clarity.

But It's the third Bourne film; if you haven't seen the earlier ones, you'll be missing crucial context and relationships.

Baby Driver2017

A heist film where movement and music are the true characters. Every action sequence is choreographed to rhythm, and the film's visual exuberance is contagious.

But The plot can feel secondary to style, and some may find the relentless energy exhausting rather than exhilarating.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Tracers

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Halt and Catch Fire2014

Both are about people escaping their old lives and discovering themselves through movement (literal or metaphorical) and the energy required to stay ahead of their past.

A series about obsession and reinvention that moves through technological and personal landscapes with the same velocity as Tracers moves through urban space. It's about people chasing something ineffable and pushing themselves to the limit.

But It's a slow-burn drama set mostly in offices and living rooms—nothing like Tracers aesthetically. If you need action spectacle, you won't find it here.

Brick Mansions2014

A Detroit-set action film with real parkour talent and wall-to-wall movement sequences. It leans into the physicality of its leads and doesn't pretend to be anything but fun.

But The plot is thin and the script is clunky. It's only worth your time if you're there purely for the kinetic action.

Chicken Run2000

A lean, propulsive thriller about a woman running for her life through London. The action is inventive, the pacing relentless, and it respects your intelligence without over-explaining itself.

But It's a B-movie with a B-movie budget; if you're expecting prestige action, you'll be disappointed by the limited scope and locations.

Escape Plan2013

Stallone and Schwarzenegger in a prison-break action film that knows exactly what it is. Fun, propulsive, and genuinely clever about its central premise without taking itself seriously.

But It's a mid-tier action film with predictable beats and formula-following. If you've seen prison-break movies, you know exactly what's coming.

The Protector2005

A Thai action film where Tony Jaa performs stunning physical sequences with minimal wires or CGI. The staircase fight alone is worth the watch—acrobatic, brutal, and inventive.

But The plot is bare bones and the dubbing (if you're watching English version) is distracting. It's an action film for people who want to see someone move, not a complete story.

District B132004

The spiritual ancestor of Tracers—it's where parkour came from on screen, with the same conviction that the human body moving through urban space is inherently cinematic.

A French action film shot in the Paris suburbs that pioneered parkour on film. Raw, physical, inventive choreography that influenced the entire genre. It's faster and cruder than Tracers but with genuine invention.

But It's in French with subtitles, shot on a tight budget, and the dialogue can feel wooden. The action is the story, so if you need narrative development, you'll feel shortchanged.

Synecdoche, New York2008

Both center on obsessive men finding themselves by physically navigating and transforming spaces, though one does it with parkour and the other with metaphysics and heartbreak.

Charlie Kaufman's masterpiece about a theater director building an enormous scale replica of his world. Like Tracers, it's about a man escaping into an alternative reality and reinventing himself through physical spaces and movement.

But It's a surreal, deliberately confusing meditation on art and mortality. There are no action sequences, no clear plot, and it demands patience with ambiguity and sadness.