‘The Surgeon’ Review: Michelle Yeoh Plays a Kidnapped Doctor Trying to Outwit Her Captors in Deliriously Fun Genre-Bender
Michelle Yeoh stars in "The Surgeon," a genre-bending thriller from writer-director Roshan Sethi that blends medical drama, crime thriller, action film and dark comedy. Yeoh plays Dr Eliza Lim, a recently retired surgeon abducted by criminals and forced at gunpoint to operate on one of their own, before turning her medical expertise and hidden scalpels against her captors to survive.
Sethi, who also works part-time as a radiation oncologist, draws on his medical background for the film's unflinching operating-room scenes, while Yeoh's calm, precise fighting style sees her target her captors' most vulnerable anatomical points rather than relying on traditional martial arts. Stylistic touches include glimpses of the body beneath the skin during attacks and a ticking-clock noir device counting down a hostage's survival time, all set against a visually bright, colourful backdrop rather than typical genre gloom. Martin Freeman appears as the scheme's crime boss, with Joseph Mydell in a supporting role, and the review praises the film as taut, suspenseful and "wildly entertaining."
In short
- Michelle Yeoh plays a kidnapped surgeon fighting back against captors.
- Director Roshan Sethi blends medical drama, thriller and action genres.
- Martin Freeman co-stars; reviewer calls it "deliriously fun."
Explained simply
Michelle Yeoh, the Oscar-winning actress known for action and drama roles in films such as "Everything Everywhere All at Once" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," stars in "The Surgeon," a new thriller that mixes medical drama, crime and action with dark comedy. She plays a retired surgeon who is kidnapped and forced to operate on a criminal, setting up a story about her trying to survive and escape her captors.
The film comes from writer-director Roshan Sethi, who also works as a radiation oncologist, and that medical background shapes the film's approach to its surgery scenes and the way Yeoh's character uses her anatomical knowledge rather than conventional fighting skills. Martin Freeman plays the leader of the criminal gang holding her, with Joseph Mydell also appearing in the cast.
The film is notable for blending several genres at once, combining graphic medical detail with crime-thriller tension and moments of humour, set against a brighter visual style than is typical for this kind of story. It is being discussed as a vehicle for Yeoh to show a different side of her action-star persona.
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