Link This: Eliminators (2016) - Direct to Video Review

Director: James Nunn

Cast: Scott Adkins, Wade Barrett, James Cosmo

Country: United States

Run Time: 94 min

It's been a solid year for direct to video action movies, with numerous high profile titles such as Kickboxer: Vengeance and Hard Target 2 playing to action fans' taste and nostalgia for past I.P.'s. There's also been some lousy entries, such as Steven Seagal's six or so films he released this year, although I've only seen one, End of a Gun. However, it turns out that the best has been saved for last, as Scott Adkins' latest vehicle, Eliminators, is a solid and stupendous action thriller with genuine tension and sleek beat downs. It easily usurps even theatrically released action films this year such as London Has Fallen, Criminal, Blood Father, and Mechanic: Resurrection. Check out my review here.

DTV Cinema - Hard Target 2 (2016)

Director: Roel Reine

Cast: Scott Adkins, Rhona Mitra, Robert Knepper, Temeura Morrison

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 104 min

British martial artist Scott Adkins is direct to video (DTV) and low budget action cinema's hardest working star. I feel redundant every time I write or say that statement, but it's true. In the last 16 years, Adkins has worked his way up from show stealing supporting player to show stopping lead in several of the best direct to video films ever released (i.e. Undisputed II and III, Ninja I and II, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, etc). He has such a huge fandom behind him, that nearly every project of his gains traction simply because of his attachment. I, as well as many others, have gone on to declare him the spiritual successor to "The Muscles From Brussells" himself, Jean-Claude Van Damme. 

It's also simple to declare Adkins the new Van Damme not only because of his martial arts skills and dedication to the action genre, but also because he has appeared in several films alongside Van Damme before (i.e. The Shepherd: Border Patrol, Assassination Games, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, Expendables 2). Therefore, when word got out that he was going to be starring in Hard Target 2, a thematic/DTV sequel to the John Woo/Van Damme 1993 classic, Hard Target, it made perfect sense. There is no doubt about it, not only is Hard Target 2 one of Adkin's biggest starring ventures yet, but also the biggest DTV event of the year.

The sequel comes from director Roel Reine, who is considered one of the best directors in the DTV market alongside fellow vets Isaac Florentine and John Hyams. Adkins has come full circle now, as he has worked with all three of these kings of DTV now. Anyways, Reine mostly specializes in DTV sequels to previously released theatrical efforts, such as 12 Rounds 2: Reloaded and The Man With the Iron Fists 2, as well as standalone ventures. While I have personally only seen two of his films before hand, the bland but admirable The Marine 2 and the hugely underrated Danny Trejo vehicle Dead in Tombstone, Reine is commendable for his ability to shoot dynamic tracking shots and to stretch as much as possible out of his tiny budgets and shootings schedules. Therefore, both he and Adkins seemed like a best fit for Hard Target 2. 

Adkins brings the pain as always with his signature kicks.

After all, if you are going to have the guts to make a DTV sequel to one of the greatest action films of all time and force its creators to work with the littlest amount of time and money as possible, you might as well get one of the best directors and stars of DTV action cinema. Although I was excited for the sequel, my hopes weren't exactly high, as I knew to be wary about a DTV film regardless. Unfortunately, Hard Target 2 never amounts to anything more than a middling but serviceable low budget action film that remains stagnantly mediocre from start to finish. Adkins is in prime form, Reine's ever impressive camera work is on display, and the undeniable hook of its 'Most Dangerous Game Plot' is there, but the limitations of the film's budget and its tonal issues prevent it from being the very good action film that it could have been. 

Adkins plays Wes Baylor "The Jailor", a professional fighter who is up for the championship. When he accidentally kills his opponent and best friend in the ring, he moves to Thailand to live a secluded life of regret. After participating in several underground fights, Wes is approached by Aldrich, a rich businessman who offers him money to participate in the fight of a life time. Unfortunately, Wes has no clue that he is stepping into a trap and becoming the bait for a group of elite hunters who hunt man for sport. With no way out except to fight for his life in the jungles of Thailand, Wes becomes a "hard target" and goes head to head against armed hunters in a martial arts infused action fest.

For a DTV sequel, Hard Target 2 does a great job crafting a plot that is somewhat similar but not a direct retread of the original's. In fact, it does a great job justifying its protagonist's abilities and imbues great empathy within their plight. Whereas Van Damme's character was a nomad who happened to be a bad ass in the original, Adkins' character is a professional fighter who can justify his fighting abilities in the sequel. Whereas Van Damme happened to become a target for a group of hunters whilst getting involved in a murder mystery, Adkins is conned and forced into a 'Running Man' type situation where he must fight for his life. Poor Adkins didn't do anything wrong, and yet he has to sink or swim right off the bat. When he wraps a bag of ruby's around his waist and runs off into the jungle without a weapon at his side, I instantly felt for him. These are great character and story telling decisions that immediately pull the viewer into the protagonist's plight and shake up a needless sequel into an already intriguing one. I also applaud Reine for setting the film within the jungles of Thailand, as it offers up a somewhat similar visual experience to the original film's swamps and woods amidst New Orleans.

Unfortunately, the sequel offers up far less in the form of narrative, as it only provides a basic hunt to hinge its action packed proceedings upon, and than quickly settles into a relaxed groove after a promising first act. Whereas the original was more of a murder mystery that transitioned into a balls to the wall hunt, the sequel is nothing more than a hunt. The problem with this simplicity is that there isn't enough narrative nor tension to fill the entire feature. The screenwriters try to make up for this lack of narrative by squeezing in a forced sub-plot about a brother and sister who live in the jungle and work alongside Adkins' character. However, it's in no way compelling, and instead a complete time waster. If you pay careful attention to the film while watching it, you'll notice that there is a surprising amount of screen time given to every character, including the miniscule hunters. With so little going on with Adkins' character from beat to beat, the film tries to ring as much material as possible out of its slim story and cast, only to come out painfully dry very quickly. There's only so much you can do with a 'Most Dangerous Game' plot when you boil it down to basics.

Knepper brings his wonderfully villainous chops as always.

Another shame about the sequel is that Reine doesn't understand how to convey the tone of a fun and ridiculous action movie, such as the original. While the first film was an absurdist tongue in cheek action fest in the vein of Commando, the sequel is fairly serious, and more representative of the bland contemporary DTV crowd. These signs abound, as seen through the sequel's minimal comedic relief, overly serious dialog, and dry direction. There's also some cruel and unnecessarily mean spirited parts that hamper the viewing experience, such as an attempted rape and a supporting character's rather depressing outcome. The cruel and depressing turn of events surrounding the seemingly innocent but doomed son of the father/son duo reminded me of the horrid events from Ringo Lam's In Hell regarding a similar innocent but doomed prisoner. I just love when a movie introduces a wimpy supporting character, traumatizes them with a life altering event, belittles them by having another character call them a coward, and than proceeds to show them blow into smithereens a few scenes later. Now that's what you call a picker upper. Damn you Reine and your cruel action movies.

All criticisms aside, the one thing that Hard Target 2 exceeds at best is its casting, as the three leads within the picture act as perfect replacements for the most notable characters from the original. Scott Adkins, who is already the spiritual successor to Van Damme, is the best bet as far as physically inclined action stars come. He does as fine a job as always, whether it be acting intense and heated to visibly performing many of his own stunts. 

In the villain role we have Robert Knepper, who makes for an excellent replacement to Lance Henricksen from the original. Knepper, who I have always enjoyed from his multi-season turn as Teddy Bagwell from the Prison Break television series, is cold, calculated, and business like in his performance. His take on the character matches Henricksen's mega-acting beat for beat, and makes him the best candidate for the part. There's even a nice easter egg towards the end where he pulls out a single shot pistol that is meant to connect him as Henricksen's brother, although apparently Universal shot the idea down. As to why they were concerned that was a bad idea, I will never understand, as it would have been awesome to connect both pictures, meaning that both Van Damme and Adkins would exist within the same cinematic universe. And finally, Temeura Morrison plays Knepper's loyal right hand man , filling in for Arnold Vosloo's shoes from the original. Morrison, who has always been a reliable actor, from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, to Speed 2: Cruise Control, to even Reine's own The Marine 2, brings the intensity that makes his supporting player formidable and imposing. 

Don't get your hopes up for lots of Mitra.

Most notable of the miniscule supporting players is Doomsday's Rhona Mitra, who happens to billed on the film's DVD and poster even though she is barely in the film for some reason. There's a cool line where she mentions that she is the daughter of a hunter, and I'd like to believe that it connects her as well to Henricksen's hunter from the original. But alas, I guess I'll leave that for my Hard Target fan fiction. Overall, the rest of the hunters are quite forgetful, and feel more like meat from a slasher film who are somewhat defined but obviously disposable, as anyone watching the film knows that they are going to die by Adkins' hands.

Lastly, the action within the film is solid all around, although not very memorable, unique, or lengthy. For those who don't know, Hard Target 2 was shot in 20 days and for less than $5 million. That's extremely impressive when one takes into account the scope of the film and how impressive some of its shots and action sequences are. Therefore, one needs to handicap the film in order to fairly review it. It's a shame that the film wasn't allowed more time or money, because just as every shootout or fight gets going, it quickly ends and segways into the next story beat. For example, there's a great confrontation atop a train track where Adkins and Morrison aim guns at each other. When they finally come face to face, they fight one another while shooting their guns, backed by some affective score. Unfortunately, the fight lasts about twenty seconds, and Adkins immediately jumps off of the train tracks and into a river. Shortened moments like these pepper the entire film, which thereby prevents any sort of notable action sequence from ever realizing its full potential. But as I said, there's a handicap here, and Reine only had so much time to work with. 

Reine acts as his own director of photography as usual, and works in several technically impressive shots. There are a couple of his signature oners, such as a great dialog sequence where Knepper introduces all of the hunters to Adkins in one take, which goes on for several minutes. There's also a notable tracking shot toward the final action sequence where Adkins leaps off of a boat, punches a soldier, takes his gun, and than works his way up a beach as he takes out soldiers along the way. When the shot ended a few seconds later, I was saddened, as it had me on the edge of my seat. Even The Marine 2 featured longer tracking shots. But alas, 20 days only affords you so much time, and that we even got two impressive shots alone is enough to commend the film for. However, Hard Target 2 features the same bland lighting and unappealing grey colors that plagues most of Reine's DTV work. It's not nearly as drab as some of his previous efforts, as the jungles of Thailand at least appear tropical, but it's not nearly as colorful as it could/should have been. 

Boyka vs. Django Fett, need I say more?

When the sequel was originally announced, director John Woo was attached as an Executive Producer. Reine was even on the record stating that he loved Woo, the original, and wanted to pay tribute to the kind of films Woo used to make in the 90s. However, Woo's name has since mysteriously vanished from the project, as there was no official announcement as to why my favorite director of all time was suddenly detached from the sequel to one of his greatest films. While I highly doubt that Woo was ashamed to be attached, he must have become busy and simply could not work on the film. But alas, it's a shame that the Woo himself dropped out for whatever reasons. That being said, Woo fans will be able to spot several visual homages to the director and his films throughout, including slow motion shots of doves, a flying arrow smash cutting to the film's title, abundant Beretta handguns, and the single shot pistol used within both Hard Boiled and Hard Target.

For action and martial arts fans, Hard Target 2 was just about the DTV event of the year. Everyone knew it was never going to be anywhere near as great as the original, but fans of DTV cinema were going to turn out regardless, and hopefully legally. Overall, Reine's sequel to one of the greatest action films of the 90s is a fairly bland but technically proficient thematic sequel. It does a great job paying tribute to the original through both its visual homages and unique shake up to the formula. While the action is solid all around, it leaves much to be desired, as no set piece is ever very memorable or lengthy. Small bouts of action abound, but nothing really to write home about. However, even with the film's technical woes set aside, which are excusable, the true crime of the film is its meandering narrative and dreadful tone, which both fail to conjure up a fun sense of energy or worthwhile feature material. The characters and performances are all fine, but it's a shame that they don't have a better script to work with. All in all, Hard Target 2 is about exactly as I expected it to be, but I still wish that it could have been a few notches better than it turned out to be.

Rating: 5/10 - For a DTV sequel made in 20 days for only $5 million, Reine did a very good job when given the most impossible of limitations. 

DTV Cinema - The Keeper (2009)

Director: Keoni Waxman

Cast: Steven Seagal, Luce Rains, Liezl Carstens, Kisha Sierra

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 94 min

DTV Cinema is a series dedicated to reviewing and discussing all things direct to video. Although one could easily take a direct to video at the same face value as a theatrically released film, they truly do differ in many ways, and represent their own sub-genre and fandom that makes them fun and unique to follow.

Steven Seagal is a fascinating creature; as well as a personal obsession of mine. After starring in a streak of several fantastic action films in the early 90s, the sensei himself quickly devolved into a lazy action star who only appeared in lousy and cheap direct to video (DTV) action films. It's shocking how a star of such quality could go from Academy Award nominated material (i.e. Under Siege) to low rent garbage that defines the bargain bin. It is people like Seagal who gave the DTV market a bad name in the first place.

Although I have not made it apparent on my blog, me and a group of friends have been slowly working our way through every single DTV Seagal film since last year for kicks and giggles. I have seen too many to count, as well as more than I would like to admit sitting all of the way through. There is no denying it, almost every one of Seagal's direct to video films are complete trash. They feature horrendous acting, inept plotting, incomprehensible action sequences, terrible sound design, and loads of accidental comedy. While I most certainly will never review every single one of these DTV films (come on guys, I have a life), I thought that I would tackle a couple in order to get my opinion out there about some of Seagal's lesser films. First up on the chopping block is, The Keeper, a surprisingly well received Seagal venture that is more or less Seagal's attempt at Man on Fire meets Taken with a little bit of his own Hard to Kill thrown in for good measure.

Rest in peace to quality Steven Seagal films.

I forgot to mention that one of the fun aspects of watching Seagal's DTV films is trying to piece together their horribly complicated plots. Therefore, instead of cheating and reading up online what the exact plot of the film is, I thought that I would take a stab at it myself.

After Roland Salinger (Steven Seagal) and his partner raid a room full of goons and money, Salinger's partner suggests keeping the money for themselves. When Salinger expresses disinterest in the matter, his partner reveals that he was kidding, only to pull a gun and shoot Salinger "dead!" It's rare that Seagal ever receives a wound within his films, let alone dies or gets shot. Therefore, The Keeper marks a rare instance in which Seagal is almost "killed" off within the opening act. When his partner discovers that Salinger survived the incident, he heads to the hospital to finish Salinger off, only to be surprised as Salinger pulls a gun from his hospital bed and guns him down first! 

What's odd is that one might assume that The Keeper, much like Hard to Kill, will focus on Seagal's revenge against his betrayers. Instead, Seagal achieves his vengeance within the first 10 minutes. How's that for a short and dissatisfying revenge? In all honesty, this opening prologue has nothing to do with the rest of the plot, as it only serves the purpose to explain why Salinger is forced to retire from the force.

Anyways, the film than sort of gets into the real plot when a young woman, Nikita (Liezl Carstens), is attacked by masked men. Even though she escapes, her father hires her a bodyguard, a "keeper" if you will, Mister Roland Salinger. Unfortunately, Salinger is not able to properly protect Nikita, as she is successfully kidnapped one day, forcing Salinger, and Seagal, to try harder than ever before to kill her captors and rescue her.

Seagal shows some thugs whose boss as he slaps a poor stuntman around.

The Keeper was Seagal's first collaboration with director Keoni Waxman, a filmmaker who has since gone on to direct Seagal in DTV efforts A Dangerous Man, Maximum Conviction, Force of Execution, A Good Man, and Absolution. As far as DTV filmmakers come, Waxman finds himself towards the bottom of the list, right under neath Roel Reine (The Marine 2), who would than be followed by Isaac Florentine (Ninja, Ninja: Shadow of a Tear), and the cream of the crop, John Hyams (Universal Soldier: Regeneration). Unlike Reine, Florentine, and Hyams, Waxman has no understanding of how to tell a dramatically compelling story or how to direct a visibly comprehensible action sequence.

While nowhere near as awful as some of the directors that Seagal has worked with before, Waxman's films feature all of the trappings of many of Seagal's laziest efforts. For example, The Keeper features light voice dubbing, a sign that either not all of Seagal's lines were properly recorded or that Seagal whispered too often. There are also a couple scenes of behind the head body doubles, another sign that Seagal would only appear on camera for his dialog and action scenes, but not for coverage. There are also a few instances of sped up footage, another sign of Seagal's slow moves in his elder days. These DTV flaws are nowhere near as bad as some of the ones found in Seagal's worst films (i.e. Out for a Kill, Attack Force), but they are still awful and prove that Waxman directs films with a dull and tasteless style that prevents them from being taken seriously. Speaking of taken...

The Keeper could have been a solid opportunity for Seagal to take advantage of Taken's success and star in a film in which an over 50 actor kicks ass in order to rescue someone near and dear to him. While The Keeper may be more simplistic than some of Seagal's Rubix-Cube-esque plots to come before, Waxman still finds a way to over complicate things. In what should be a simple plot about a bodyguard who sets out to rescue a young woman, Waxman includes an unnecessary prologue about revenge and a sub-plot about Nikita's father and an enemy of his who wants to extort money out of him. This sub-plot is especially similar to the one found in Tony Scott's Man on Fire, another film about a body guard who protects a female until she is taken from him. However, none of this works in the film's favor, as viewers will find themselves bored to death by the double and triple crosses at the film's end that make no sense in the first place. I like these kind of plots, I really do. But even Seagal can't do one justice, which is a true shame. I guess I also have to include this film as apart of the Old Guys Kick Ass movement, as it came out after 2006 amidst the Taken craze.

Yee-ha! Cowboy Seagal, everyone.

One fun element of watching The Keeper is seeing Seagal, the least Southern actor of all time, be transported to Texas, an immensely Southern location. Seagal puts on a silly Southern accent at times, and even wears a ridiculous cowboy hat. I wish that he wore it for the entirety of the film, as it would have made for a great laugh throughout. What is even more hilarious is that even though the film takes place within Texas, the film was clearly shot in New Mexico. In one scene, Seagal drives past a train labeled: Santa Fe Railroad. Come on guys! You aren't even trying! Just say that the film is set in New Mexico, nobody will care!

For a DTV film of Seagal's stature, The Keeper features some fairly decent action, although most of it is incomprehensible and routine in nature. While I never expect a contemporary Seagal fight scene to ever impress me, I can typically hope that his shootouts, which are impersonal and simple for any one of any age to shoot, will be a stand out. Surprisingly, The Keeper features some fairly solid and satisfying gun fights, for the whole few seconds that they last. Just when the film starts to surprise you and trick you into thinking that Waxman and Seagal have stepped up their game, the film will cut away from the gunplay, as if to prove that the limited budget could only allow for so much gun fire. It came as no surprise, but the fist fights within the film don't stand up very well either. Each fight, which typically overstays its welcome, is shot with horrendous close-ups and cut to ad-nauseam. Therefore, don't go into The Keeper hoping for satisfying and breath taking action, as you will most likely be asleep by the time Seagal pulls the trigger.

The final nail in The Keeper's coffin is its immensely boring and excessive dialog that makes the viewer forget they are watching an action film in the first place. I will never understand why the screenwriters and directors of DTV films feel the need to include numerous conversations about exposition and nothing else within their low budget films. Give people action, that's what they want!

Until next time folks.

Besides the occasionally solid gun fights and the few moments of the film in which the plot stays simplistic, the only other compliment that I can pay The Keeper is that it at least looks like a real movie as opposed to some of Seagal's lesser works. To be honest, The Keeper is not funny enough to be so bad it's good, while neither good enough to be recommendable. Therefore, The Keeper finds itself stuck smack dab in the middle of the bad movie scale, earning it the title of forgettable blandness, which is honestly the worst thing a film can be. If you've already exhausted Taken numerous times, seen Man on Fire before, and don't feel like watching a good Seagal film like Hard to Kill, than give The Keeper a watch. Good luck remembering anything about the film a mere day later though.

Rating: 2/10 - The Keeper is not a keeper, ladies and gentlemen. 

DTV Cinema: Ninja (2009) / Ninja: Shadow of a Tear (2013)

Director: Isaac Florentine

Cast: Scott Adkins, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Mika Hijii, Miles Anderson

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 86 min

Ninja is a direct to video film from Israeli director Isaac Florentine, well known for his martial arts films and many collaborations with British action star Scott Adkins (Special Forces, The Shepherd, Undisputed II and III, Close Range, etc). It's worth noting that Ninja was released straight to video one month before Warner Bros' big budget and similarly titled ninja film, Ninja Assassin, in 2009. Therefore, one might assume that Ninja was trying to ape off of Ninja Assassin's success and release Asylum Pictures style. And while that assumption is somewhat true, it's worth mentioning that Ninja and Ninja Assassin are entirely different from one another, other than that they are both Americanized efforts at ninja entertainment.

The film tells the story of a martial arts dojo in Japan whose sensei protects the Yoroi Bitsu, a case concealing the weapons and armor of the ninja warrior. The sensei's top two students, Casey Bowman (Scott Adkins) and Masazuka (Tsuyoshi Ihara) both clash with one another in their task to learn martial arts and to earn their master's respect. However, Masazuka's anger gets the best of him and his sensei bans him from the school for life. In fear of the Yoroi Bitsu's safety, the sensei sends Casey and his daughter Namiko (Mika Hijii) to America in order to protect the case. After Masazuka returns to the dojo and slaughters everyone, he heads to New York City in order to kill Casey and to steal the Yoroi Bitsu.

Ninja is a flawed, albeit solid, direct to video actioner that ranks higher on the direct to video scale than many of Seagal and Van Damme's earliest DTV efforts. It pays tribute to the ninja craze of the 80s with its hokey plot elements and copious amounts of ninja sword play. The ninja sub-genre is mainly remembered due to Cannon efforts such as Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and the American Ninja series. Even though Ninja isn't all that much better than those 80s films, few Americanized ninja films were ever good. Therefore, remove your nostalgia glasses and remember that ninja cinema has always been low budget and hinged upon basic as nails plots. 

Florentine hinges his ninja antics on a fairly routine plot that is serviceable enough to draw the viewer in but never enough to keep them fully engaged. The film meets the bare minimum of what an action film should do thanks to its plentiful action sequences, distinct mythology, and heroic characters. It's downfall lies in its low budget and hokey plot that prevents it from being a theatrical quality effort. Stock music effects, obvious sets, and weak green screen make for the film's most painful moments. One can see how Florentine and Adkins could be disappointed in the film due to these budgetary restraints. I can partially forgive bad green screen effects (such as the moment when Ihara ziplines from atop a building), but the repeated selections of stock music and sound effects simply grated my ears. The film also features several hokey plot elements, such as a cult-like monk clan that makes up for the film's cannon fodder and the ninja ability to squirrel glide off of a building, that make for a good self aware laugh or two.

Fortunately, Florentine apes Warner Bros.' Ninja Assassin with a selection of fairly practical action sequences that mainly rely upon stuntmen and acrobactic actors over computer generated gore and digital nonsense. The always fantastic Scott Adkins shows off his impressive moves throughout several solid fight scenes, especially in a massive brawl against the entire gang of cult-like monks. Whenever Ninja tries to ape Ninja Assassin's heavy gore with digital blood and limb dismemberment, it falls apart. On the other hand, when Ninja focuses on pure hand to hand combat and physical brawls, it excels where its theatrical counter part fails. Florentine and Adkins aren't just a throwaway duo of action filmmakers; they are two of low budget cinema's very best and arguably Ninja's greatest asset. 

Ninja also excels because it provides its hero with a note worthy villain. Tsuyoshi Ihara (13 Assassins) gives the best performance as the jealous Masazuka that he possibly can with the material that he has to work with. Even though his character is one noted, he is also menacing and determined, which is more than you can say about most DTV villains. Masazuka steals the show as an unstoppable force of evil whose quest against Casey and Namiko resembles the T-800's goal in The Terminator. After all, Masazuka scores most of the film's kills, endlessly chases after the duo, and massacres a police station full of officers, just as the T-800. Florentine is lucky to have scored an actor such as Ihara because he brings major acting chops to the film's hokey low budget proceedings.

Ninja easily could have been a cheap copycat of Ninja Assassin in both its title and genre-infused goals. Fortunately, the film was handled by genre pros Florentine and Adkins and makes for an underrated viewing experience that all action fans should give a whirl at least once. While far from theatrical quality, Ninja is one of the better DTV films to have been made in the last 15 years.

Rating: 6/10 - Despite its hokey plot elements and low budget effects, Ninja is a fairly solid DTV effort with some fantastic action sequences and a menacing villain.

Director: Isaac Florentine

Cast: Scott Adkins, Kane Kosugi, Mika Hijii, Shun Sugata

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 95 min

*SPOILERS BELOW*

Ninja: Shadow of a Tear finds both Florentine and Adkins returning to the series after the release of several of Adkins' highest profile projects such as Zero Dark Thirty, Expendables 2, and Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. Stripped of the previous film's attempts at cashing in on Ninja Assassin, Ninja: Shadow of a Tear (or Ninja II) is more of a stripped down revenge thriller in comparison to its hokier predecessor. The sequel is more of an honest collaboration between Florentine and Adkins due to the film's grounded plot and plentiful fight sequences. Unfortunately, Ninja II is nothing but a brutal and dour revenge film in which Adkins' character murders many unnecessary people on his quest to avenge his wife's murder. Say what you want about Ninja, but at least that film was more fun to watch than this downer of a revenge film.

Ninja II picks up a few years after the events of the first film with both Casey and Namiko married and running her father's dojo together. When Casey goes to a jewelry store to buy his wife a commemorative pendant, two thugs attack him and a fight ensues. Later that night, Casey goes to the store to buy some food for his wife, and returns home to find her murdered. Distraught, Casey seeks solace in his old friend Nakabara (Kane Kosugi), a sensei of a dojo in Bangkok, Thailand. Nakabara believes that Goro, a powerful drug lord, is to blame for Namiko's death and that he is enacting vengeance on her and Nakabara's family names due to past grievances. Therefore, Casey straps on his ninja suit and goes after Goro.

Even though Ninja II features far more grounded fight sequences and extremely minimal digital effects, the film's action still leaves something to be desired despite the simplistic plot that surrounds it all. Ninja II is jam packed with wall to wall action for the entirety of its 95 minute run time. Unfortunately, many of its fights serve the plot in no way at all. Take the fight between Casey and a group of unknowing dojo members or his brawl in an outdoors bar against several drunk patrons. Both of these fights may be technically sufficient, but neither are necessary in an otherwise overly action packed sequel that exists purely to deliver punch after punch.

The character of Casey Bowman is completely revamped for the sequel in which he turns into more of an anti-hero who murders and beats down people undeserving of pain. Whereas Adkin's Casey was a bad ass cornball in the previous film, here he is nothing but a vessel of pain and unsuppressed rage. In retrospect, Casey's quest for vengeance is entirely misguided because he takes Nakabura's information at face value and ends up massacring countless police officers, criminals, and drug lords who had nothing to do with his wife's murder in the first place. The film's "real" plot doesn't kick off until the halfway mark in which Nakabura uses Casey to massacre his drug lord competition. Ninja II, much like Taken 3, purposefully misdirects the viewer in order to throw a last second twist in there to make the film appear clever. Talk about a slap in the face.

I hate when action films pull the rug out from under the viewer like this because it makes most of the film's body count and action entirely useless in retrospect. A straightforward and predictable revenge thriller would have been more serviceable than trickery such as this. The entire plot is ultimately an excuse to come up with a reason to pit Scott Adkins, one of direct to video cinema's greatest stars, against Kane Kosgui, the son of ninja cinema's greatest star, Sho Kosugi. By the time Casey and Nakabura went head to head for their final showdown, I could not give a care in the world about the outcome because I felt lied too and ultimately deceived.

That Ninja II is technically superior to its technically flawed predecessor is ultimately depressing. It's a shame that Ninja II couldn't pair a great story and character motivation to its rather excellent fight sequences that continue to prove that Florentine is one of action cinema's greatest directors. The sequel, although tonally different and far grittier, simply proves to be a showcase of a misdirected and gullible man who goes on a murder spree. It remains to be seen whether or not Adkins and Florentine will return to the Ninja series, but I give them my permission to bid the series farewell. Unless the two can conjure up a story that doesn't betray the viewer and their character, than I'm out.

Rating: 5/10 - Despite a massive selection of A-grade fight sequences, Ninja II crumbles under its misleading plot and ninja-like deception.

Link This: Close Range (2015) - DTV Review

Director: Isaac Florentine

Cast: Scott Adkins, Nick Chinlund, Tony Perez, Jake La Potz, Scott Evans

Country: United States

Rating: Not Rated

Run Time: 85 min

Hey everyone, I had the pleasure of checking out an advanced screener of Isaac Florentine's latest action film starring Scott Adkins, the awesome Close Range. The film has a few DTV issues here and there, but is mostly a fantastic action film with an amazing finale. Check out the review here.

DTV Cinema - The Marine 2 (2009)

Director: Roel Reine

Cast: Ted DiBiase, Lara Cox, Michael Rooker, Temuera Morrison

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 96 min

DTV Cinema is a series dedicated to reviewing and discussing all things direct to video. Although one could easily take a direct to video at the same face value as a theatrically released film, they truly do differ in many ways, and represent their own sub-genre and fandom that makes them fun and unique to follow.

The Marine 2 is a WWE produced direct to video sequel to the terrible The Marine. The film is a sequel in name only as it loosely retreads the plot of the original, but with an entirely new cast and setting. In a sense, The Marine franchise is an anthology series in which a new actor plays a new Marine each film. John Cena is the first Marine, Ted Dibiase is the second Marine, and Mike The Miz Mizani is the third Marine. One would assume that a direct to video sequel to a theatrically released film with a different actor and lower budget would immediately be a weaker film. After all, John Cena and $20 million is more than what this film had to work with. However, DTV veteran Roel Reine* (Pistol Whipped, Death Race 2, Dead in Tombstone) does the best he can with his low budget and pumps out a film that is actually better than the original.

The Marine 2 exceeds where the original fails because Reine and star Dibiase take the material seriously. Instead of being a ridiculous piece of popcorn entertainment, The Marine 2 is a deadly serious action film with a gritty tone, small scaled setting, and violent action scenes to boot. Reine even avoids the pitfalls of the original by ditching unnecessary humor and keeping the plot focused and straightfoward. Unfortunately, the film is only better than the original by "that" much. Even though The Marine 2 features a serious tone and solid action, the film is dull from start to finish. There isn't an ounce of tension or originality in the entire film. DiBiase doesn't exude any charisma or talent either. With a dull "by the numbers" plot and a boring lead, The Marine 2 drags from start to finish. Still, I'd rather take the boring but violent The Marine 2 over the annoying and offensive The Marine any day.

This opening scene reeks of Antoine Fuqua's Shooter.

The Marine 2 opens with an action scene where the protagonist, Joe Linwood (Ted DiBiase) kills a bunch of people while on active duty; much like the opening scene in The Marine. We than jump to our main plot: Joe and his wife Robin (Lara Cox) decide to go on a vacation to a new hotel on an island in Thailand; Robin also has work to attend to on the island. Even though their vacation in the sunny tropics seems grand and all, boats full of terrorists raid the hotel and take everyone hostage in exchange for ransom. In the midst of the initial take over, Joe gets knocked unconscious and saved by fellow islander Church (Michael Rooker). When Joe awakes outside of the hotel grounds, he decides to wage a one man war against the terrorists and save both his wife and the other hostages.

The Marine 2 loosely adapts the original film's plot as it places the protagonist's wife into a hostage situation. However, the sequel does enough different in order to separate it from the original. Instead of being a large chase across a swamp a-la The Marine, The Marine 2 takes place entirely on one island within one hotel. The Marine 2 is yet another action film that can be added to the ever growing list of Die Hard knock offs with its "one man against many in one location" plot. I love that screenwriters Christopher Borrelli and John Morgan found a way to distinguish The Marine 2 from its predecessor this way. The villains are also written to be far more menacing and threatening than the pansy assed villains from the predecessor. I never once felt scared for John Cena's wife in the original film because her captors were a bunch of dumb idiots. However, the captors in this film are far more threatening thanks to their menacing outfits, martial arts skills, and large numbers.

Even though The Marine 2 is tonally an improvement over The Marine, the film drags from start to finish. There isn't an ounce of true tension in the entire film. It never once feels exciting, and only comes to life during its action sequences. Everything else though from the characters, to the dialog, to the plot is as routine as they come. It also doesn't help that every actor is duller than a brick too. Star DiBiase has no charisma or charm. Therefore, the man comes off like an emotionless robot who only comes to life when he kicks ass. Much like Cena, DiBiase fails in the drama department but excels during his action scenes. Lara Cox and Temeura Morrison (Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones) also come off extremely dull. Even though Morrison is especially dull, at least the actor portrays a villain far more menacing than Robert Patrick's ridiculous Rome character from The Marine. The only actor who seems to exude an ounce of charm or give an effort is character actor Michael Rooker (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Guardians of the Galaxy). Rooker is one of the few character actors who can make any character of his all the more memorable simply by playing his kind self.

Henry: Portrait of a Marine Helper

When I went into The Marine 2, I knew that I would be getting some sub-par to impressive action sequences for a DTV film simply because Roel Reine was directing. Reine has directed numerous DTV features and typically brings a good sense of action craftsmanship to every low budget film of his. And you know what, I got exactly that. The action scenes in the film range from dull and cheap to exciting and impressive. Even though The Marine 2 kicks some ass, its action scenes typically fall flat simply due to the low budget that Reine had to work with. For example, most of the film's explosion are poorly rendered computer graphics. It's a shame that the film didn't have the pyrotechnics budget of the original film because those fantastic explosions could have been put to great work in this slightly superior sequel. Most of the film's action scenes also lack a sense of tension and feel routine in their choreography. 

However, Reine delivers two very impressive standout set pieces that one would not expect to find in a film entitled The Marine 2 for goodness sakes. The first is a fantastic fight scene between DiBiase and two martial arts skilled members of the terrorist group. After the three exchange gun fire down a hallway, DiBiase takes cover behind a pillar. As the men fire away at the pillar and obliterate it to pieces in a slow motion scene that recalls The Matrix's exploding lobby pillars, the men eventually run out of ammo and result to rushing DiBiase. The three have a very good fist fight that combines the brutal Thai fighting style of The Raid films with the cool tracking shots of Children of Men. The scene is filled with numerous "Oh!" moments and concludes with DiBiase kicking one of the men's heads through a wooden plank (pictured below). The other great action scene of the film is the final foot chase in which DiBiase must out run Morrison on a wooden dock. The scene runs for a lengthy amount of time and feels very reminiscent to the climactic foot chase from Point Break.

Unfortunately, I have to dock The Marine 2 for its cheap score and lousy grey tint. Nothing screams direct to video more than a generic sounding score and a lame grey tint. Other sub-par direct to video films like Dragon Eyes and The Assassination Games also feature a similar grey tint in order to make their proceedings appear gritty. And I'm sorry, but a grey tint is the last thing that should be applied to a film set on a tropical island. I have never seen a more depressing looking vacation getaway in my life. There's just too much grey in The Marine 2 in general. Even star DiBiase wears a grey shirt and pants the entire movie!

DiBiase brings the pain in the sequel's stand out set piece.

I really don't have much to say about this one people. Even though The Marine 2 makes no major offenses, it is still nothing more than a routine and sub-par direct to video sequel (that also finds a way to surpass its theatrically released predecessor). I applaud Reine for making a tonally serious sequel that does more with its low budget than The Marine could with several million dollars. Unfortunately, no one really knows how to act and Reine doesn't know how to direct drama. Never the less, The Marine 2 makes for a sub-par action film that extremely die hard action fans might want to check out. If you can, simply look up the two action scenes that I raved about and stop there, that is all you really need to see.

Rating: 4/10 - A mildly entertaining but mostly dull DTV sequel that makes for a fun Die Hard rip-off as well.

Reviews In This Series:
The Marine (John Bonito, 2006)

'Tis the Season - Riot (1996)

Director: Joseph Merhi

Cast: Gary Daniels, Sugar Ray Leonard, Patrick Kilpatrick, Charles Napier, Paige Rowland

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 94 minutes

Your typical Christmas action viewing is always going to consist of Die Hard, Die Hard 2: Die Harder, or the several Christmas themed action pictures penned by Shane Black. However, I thought that I would shed light on Riot, a little seen DTV action film set at Christmas time that I figured most action fanatics had not heard of. Riot is three things to me: a Christmas themed action picture, a Gary Daniels vehicle, and a low budget DTV action picture. You know you are an action fan when you are checking out an action film for one of these three reasons since casual audiences care less for that stuff. Thankfully for me, Riot has them all.

I had planned on reviewing Riot for my 'Tis the Season series long before we arrived to the Christmas season. However, Riot is oddly topical and relevant to what is going on in the United States right now concerning the riots in Ferguson, Missouri over a police officer shooting an African American to death. I don't know if Riot, a film released to video in 1996, was already responding to the riots and police beatings concerning the infamous Rodney King case in 1991. Either way, it is topical that the film gently touches upon excessive police force and the organized violence that results from it. Daniels gives the film's opinion of rioting best when he says, "What do these people think they are going to resolve acting like this?" If you think that Riot is some intelligent commentary on rioting and police beatings thought, it's not. This is a dumb as nails DTV film that is all action from start to finish. And that is just fine by me.

Just your average ordinary bar brawl against a baseball team.

Riot opens up with a riot on Christmas Eve as citizens destroy the city after hearing the news of a police officer accidentally gunning down innocent children mistaken as gang members. Major Shane Alcott (Gary Daniels) watches televised coverage of the riot from a bar in disgust. After Shane and his buddy Major Williams (Sugar Ray Leonard) leave the place after an unnecessary but entertaining bar fight, they are taken to the British Embassy for a mission. The British Ambassador's daughter, Anna (Paige Rowland), was kidnapped during the riot. The kidnappers demand money in exchange for her life. Therefore, Agent Devaney (Charles Napier) assigns Shane and Williams the task of rescuing Paige from within the riot zone Escape From New York-style.

Riot is a dumb, basic, and silly DTV action film that delivers the goods from start to finish. The film delivers set piece after set piece without a moment for the viewer to breathe. As I just stated, the film's rough plot is very similar to John Carpenter's eighties classic Escape From New York. Shane is dropped off into a dangerous quarantined zone by aircraft with a handgun and a limited amount of time, just like Snake Plissken. However, this low budget copy cat is set at Christmas time! Riot is jam packed with Christmas aesthetics from its ever present Christmas lights, to the numerous Christmas songs that play during fight scenes, to even the rendition of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" that plays during the opening riot footage. Shane even works out to Christmas music when he pumps iron in his apartment! That's how Christmas minded this film is people. I would argue that there is more Christmas decorations and aesthetics in this film than any of the Die Hard sequels or Shane Black films. It's a shame there are no great Christmas one-liners though.

Unfortunately, Riot suffers from a weak pace and inability to craft true tension or excitement. Even though Riot is based around a high stakes situation that features numerous action scenes, the film never feels exciting even for a moment. You could easily chock this up to the film's weak editing, bad acting, and truly terrible film score. Oh man, my ears haven't hurt from a score this bad in a long time. The terrible repeating theme in Game of Death I and II is better than any of the score heard here. It's a damn shame the film's pace and energy can't match its superb choreography and action craftmanship. The film also lacks a distinct or attractive visual style. Images are rarely lit in a pleasing manner and are even quite hazy a-la John Hensleigh's The Punisher. DTV films of the 1990's were most definitely low budget.

A hockey gang? What is this The Warriors?

Riot stars former kickboxer and British action star Gary Daniels. The man has starred in so many DTV films that it is hard to keep track of them all. Daniels has also appeared in a few theatrically released films over the years (City Hunter, The Expendables, and Tekken), so his career has not been entirely reduced to home video. With so many films under his belt, I commend Daniels for squeezing a Christmas action film in there. And while Daniels does a great job in the film's many action scenes, he comes off fairly weak in the dialog and drama scenes. However, Daniels is one of those cheesy actors you can't help but love. He's just unique. Maybe it's his Britishness. As far as hammy actors come, Daniels is one of the best. At least he's not a dreadful cheesy actor like Highlander: Endgame alumni Adrian Paul and Christoph Lambert. Those guys have yet to convince me that they can show a genuine emotion on screen.

Riot proves itself to be a true DTV when a twist around the halfway point over complicates the plot beyond no end (DTV action films are notorious for over complicating their plots). Even though it seemed that Anna, Shane's ex-girlfriend by the way, was kidnapped by simple gangsters, it turns out they were pawns in a larger scheme. Former IRA soldiers who had a history with Shane in the past planned the entire riot and kidnapping just to get revenge on Shane and obtain money from the British Ambassador. How could the villain expect Shane of all people to show up to save his ex! It's his ex for goodness sakes! And how did they fabricate the riot? Did they murder the poor innocent kids and dress as police officers? If they did, that's a pretty cold tactic! It is also interesting that the film's main villain is Irish and the hero is British, considering the prejudice and history between the two nationalities in real life.

The film's supporting cast is also not half bad. Sugar Ray Leonard has a small supporting role as Shane's buddy in the first half of the film. I don't mean to be rude to Leonard, but the guy definitely doesn't have a future in acting. Still, Leonard does a fine job in his one action scene in which he and Daniels go head to head with a team of baseball players. Character actors Charles Napier (Rambo: First Blood Part II, Maniac Cop 2) and Patrick Kilpatrick (Under Siege 2, Last Man Standing) also appear in small supporting roles. They do just fine. Moving on.

The key to my heart: double fisted gun action.

Besides the Christmas setting and star Gary Daniels, the main reason anyone is going to be checking this movie out is for its action. As is typical with most DTV flicks, Riot is all action from start to finish. There is very little down time in the entire film. The film is so worried about boring the audience that there is an unnecessary fight in a bar at the beginning that is completely unrelated to the plot of the film. Nothing says Christmas cheer like a bar fight set to some hip hop music. 

Riot benefits from plenty of bad ass action beats. Here is a list of some beautiful moments in the film: Daniels pops up out of a car's hood and uses the hood for cover as he fires his gun through it, Daniels sets a motorcycle henchman on fire who proceeds to chase him down only to crash into a car and explode, Daniels wraps a rope around a motorcycle henchman's neck thereby snapping his neck and pulling him off of his motorcycle, Daniels sends a henchman off of his motorcycle into a front flip through three panes of glass, and Daniels even leaps out of a car as it flies off of a parking garage in order to grab a rope to save himself from certain death (pictured below). Say what you want about DTV action, but they know how to deliver the goods. Also kudos to Riot for the ridiculous amount of motorcycle henchmen!

Even though Riot has some awesome action scenes that benefit from great explosions and good choreography, these scenes tend to suffer from painfully weak editing. The editing is extremely clunky at times when it comes to establishing new locations or transitioning between scenes. For example, one fight scene in the middle of a neighborhood immediately leads into a parking garage the very next shot. This happens several times in the film and it is quite jarring whenever it occurs. I also noticed that Riot features an exceptionally high body count yet not an ounce of blood. The film is so low budget that there is not a single squib or blood splat to be found. Sure, every bullet fired is a blank and it always looks great whenever a henchman flies through the air. But don't expect any bloody finishes. Some tighter editing and bloody squibs would have greatly benefited the film's numerous action scenes.

Now that's what I call a stunt.

Riot is nobody's first choice when it comes to Christmas action movies. Therefore, let me be the one to spread awareness of the movie. Even though Riot is your typical DTV in parts (overly complicated at times, weak scoring and editing, terribly paced), the Christmas setting, cheesy acting, and awesome action scenes go a long way in making this one hell of an entertaining action picture. I plan on watching this film every Christmas time in order to honor its memory and to be the only person making Riot a tradition (even though I could be watching something far better). This flick is purely for the die hard action fans, Daniels geeks, and Christmas junkies.

Rating: 6/10 - A clunky, silly, but entertaining film that packs lots of action and Christmas cheer into one direct to video package.

Home Media Catch Up - Rage (2014)

Director: Paco Cabezas

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Danny Glover, Rachel Nichols, Peter Stormare, Max Ryan, Michael McGrady

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 92 Minutes

It's hard to believe that Nicolas Cage is both an Academy Award winning actor and sort of an action star. I use that term loosely because Cage's action films are typically pretty lousy or mediocre. Even though Cage is in a few awesome action films from the 90's (Face/Off, Con Air, The Rock), he is in just as many terrible contemporary ones (Bangkok Dangerous, Season of the Witch, Ghost Rider, Seeking Justice, etc.). Besides Kick-Ass, I can't remember the last time I watched a recent Nicolas Cage action film other than to see how bad it was.

Rage is an interesting entry for Nicolas Cage because it shows that he isn't afraid to tackle gritty direct to video action features. The film is very reminiscent of the type of DTV's that Steven Seagal stars in now-a-days. The film even bears many similarities to Seagal's early features like Above the Law and Out for Justice with its gritty action scenes, revenge plot, and bloody hand to hand combat. Unfortunately, this film is neither great like an early Seagal feature or so bad it's good like most of Cage's recent output. It sits somewhere in the middle; sort of a purgatory of mediocrity. It has a few solid action beats, a very interesting twist, and a nice gritty tone. But besides those positives, the rest of the film is boring, laughable, and as weak as they come.

Nicolas Rage

Paul Maguire (Nicolas Cage) is a former criminal turned legitimate businessman. He owns a construction business, has a lovely wife (Rachel Nichols), and a 16 year old daughter named Caitlyn. When Paul and his wife are out for dinner one night, three masked men break into his house and kidnap Caitlyn and attack her friends as well. Unfortunately, Caitlyn turns up dead a few days later. Distraught, Paul rounds up his two former partners in crime, Kane and Danny, to help him tear apart the city in search for who killed his daughter.

I like these kind of gritty down to earth action films that feature ordinary people in extraordinary situations. They tend to have basic plots with a simple level of engagement and good action scenes. To my regret, Rage nails the basic plot but fails on an emotional level and packs only a few short action scenes. Because the film can't engage or entertain, everything becomes boring and dull. 

The first 16 minutes of the film are incredibly bad. Rage attempts to portray Paul Maguire's everyday life as a businessman and a family man. These scenes are so generic and cheap I couldn't stop laughing. When Maguire's daughter and her friends hangout, they play the world's cheapest Guitar Hero rip-off I have ever seen. The controller doesn't even have a single button on it! Who do they think they are fooling? There is also a scene where Paul walks up behind his wife and starts kissing her on the neck and she becomes immediately turned on! I'm sorry, but I can't help but laugh when Nicolas Cage kisses a hot younger woman on the neck and somehow turns her on when he has that wig on his head.

I will say that for all of Rage's generic and boring qualities, there is a surprising twist at the end of the film that I did not see coming from a mile away. I didn't even think this kind of film would have a twist, but alas it did. This surprising twist breathes life into an otherwise dull film. And while the twist does make you look differently on characters' actions throughout the film, it's a shame that the film had to be a bore up until this revealing moment. The film's basic plot combined with its final twist makes it come off as a combination between A History of Violence, Out for Justice, and Mystic River (all better films that you should be watching instead of this film).

Look at that "Guitar Hero" controller!

Performances are pretty weak all around. Nic Cage does a fine job in the drama department. He just doesn't have very good material to work with. He cries a lot and even screams at the top of his lungs (as Cage does so well) in a few scenes. Cage even does a fine job in his few action scenes. I haven't seen a recent Nic Cage action film in a long time and was surprised to see that Cage can still carry an action scene. I think the film's worst offender is Cage's wig, it looks atrocious. He should just shave his head bald and get it over with already.

Cage has the best "so bad it's good" line in the film too. When Cage's friends ask him how deep they should go to find out who kidnapped his daughter, Cage replies, "How deep is hell?" Hilarious!

Poor Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon, Predator 2) and Peter Stormare (The Big Lebowski, Fargo) get dragged into the mix of this film as well. Their characters are pretty useless and serve little purpose beyond telling Nicolas Cage to let the police do their job. Danny Glover says the second best "so bad it's good" line in the film, "These criminals have a rap sheet as long as my dick." Classic. Everyone else in the film from mobsters, to the police, to Cage's friends are all decent or completely forgetful. It's unfortunate that every actor has to spew weak dialog as well. 

Bryan Mills would have saved his daughter in time.

Besides seeing how "so bad it's good" Rage was, the other draw for me was the action scenes. I really enjoyed the level of realistic brutality in this film; something I never thought I would see in a Nicolas Cage film (Drive Angry doesn't count, that's an homage to ridiculous exploitation cinema). Cage shoots his enemies point blank with shotguns and even slices them up with his trusty knife. The most brutal kill in the film goes to Nic Cage holding a thug's arm back and repeatedly slicing his arm over and over (pictured below). What a brutal kill!

There is also a great action scene reminiscent of the final shootout in Out for Justice where Nic Cage and his friends raid an apartment filled with gun wielding criminals. Cage blasts a criminal through a wall, shanks a knife through a criminal's hand into his back, and even lays on his back and fires a pistol in one hand and a shotgun in the other into two people! It's unfortunate that this is the only big shootout in the film because it is arguably the best action scene of the flick. More exciting and brutal gun fights like this might have made Rage a bit better.

And while the shootouts are shot well, the melee fights and chase scenes are pretty weak. These scenes are shot incredibly close with a camera that is far too shaky. Cage's character emphasizes that he is skilled with knives. And while he does knife up some enemies, the weak camera work makes it hard to see some of his knife fighting skills during the first true action scene of the picture.

The filmmakers should have taken a cue from DTV veterans Isaac Florentine (Undisputed II, III, Ninja, II) and John Hyams (Universal Soldier: Regeneration, Dragon Eyes) and allowed their shots and action scenes to breathe more. Wide shots, tracking shots, and lengthy action scenes pack more of a punch than short, shaky, and clunky action scenes.

Cage goes full Rage mode on this poor guy!

Rage isn't going to win any awards any time soon and neither is Nic Cage if he keeps doing films like this. The film suffers from generic dialog, weak storytelling, and forgetful characters who serve little to no purpose. And while this film mostly disappoints me, I did enjoy the film's gritty and violent action scenes that recall the bygone days of early 90's Steven Seagal. I only gave Rage a shot because it was recently added to Netflix. Therefore, I recommend a viewing of Rage only to the most die hard of Nicolas Cage fans who are able to access the film for free through Netflix or any other way possible. Otherwise, this is a forgetful DTV action flick that comes to life far too little and disappoints far too much.

Rating: 4/10 - A boring, dull, and clunky drama filled with a few great action beats.