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| Now on Blu-ray and VOD |
The story isn’t really that bad and it features a rather
atypical ending for this type of thriller; however the script suffers from too
much 1980’s rogue cop tropes, some weak dialogue at times, and not enough
realistic decision making from the characters. It feels less like a film and
more like an extended episode of a lower tier television show. Some of this
could be attributed to poor casting choices, but a more polished script and
less hokey scenarios might have improved the quality of the plot. I was quite
surprised that they went for an R-rating, seeing as WWE television has gone
more family friendly since becoming a publicly traded company. That being said,
there is some language and Nazi imagery that makes an appearance.
The camera work from director Stephen Reynolds is finely
done. All of his feature length productions so far have been WWE Studios
movies, previously helming Vendetta,
and 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown. He does
everything necessary to make this look interesting, providing nice establishing
shots, decent camera angles and placement, and effective crane shots. The production
values are superb as well, using multiple locations and real buildings in a
downtown city setting. They also had access to various police vehicles and
props that added to the realistic look of the picture. The score is basically
your standard action score, which almost feels like stock music from a Michael
Bay actioner.
The acting overall is fairly average. Copeland looks
believable but just seems to have the same look and demeanor on his face
through most of this. I don’t think that this type of character is best suited
for him. He fits better in a role where he would be cracking jokes instead of
having to be serious the whole time. There are several fighting sequences that
he is involved in and they all come off as looking good. I’m not sure if he actually
performed all of his stunts, seeing as he had major neck surgery that forced
him to retire from wrestling. Lana is more than passable as the attractive female
computer tech geek. At least you get to see a different version of her, minus
the Russian accent. The standout is Patrick Sabongui, who has an excellent performance
as the bomber and essentially carries this motion picture.
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| I am totally going to out-act you at the next pay-per-view |
Let’s not forget what this is, a straight-to-VOD and Blu-ray
release. And it isn’t necessarily pretending to be anything other than that. So
it does provide the required gun fights, explosions, car chases, and fight
scenes to fairly entertain the core demographic that WWE Studios is trying to
reach. Regardless, it fails to impress like some of the other recent VOD
actioners have.
Share this review before you get dropkicked!
-Raul Vantassle