Command Performance (2009)

Director: Dolph Lundgren

Notable Cast: Dolph Lundgren, Melissa Smith, Hristo Shopov, Dave Legeno, Zarchary Baharov

While the career of Dolph Lundgren has more than certainly had its ups and downs, bottoming out in the late 90s and early 00s, he has seen a resurgence of quality in his films as of recently. Between his return to the Universal Soldier franchise, a supporting role in the Expendables films, and solid roles in films like Skin Trade and The Package, it was high time to go visit some of the films that soared beyond me in years prior. Thanks to a ridiculous synopsis (you’ll read that in a second) and being a film directed, written, and starring Dolph, Command Performance made it to the top of the queue fairly quickly. While it’s another low budget Die Hard clone, this film is shockingly competent in its execution and was surprisingly fun.

Joe (Lundgren) is just the simple drummer for a local Russian rock band who scored a gig to open for a big shot pop diva named Venus (Smith). Unfortunately since it’s a command performance sponsored by the Russian president (Shopov,) there is also a team of savage old-school Russian mercenaries planning to hold the arena and the President hostage. With the help of a secret service agent (Baharov,) Joe is going to have to revert to his ass kicking ways to get these people out alive.

From action star to rock star...and back again in one movie.

So it’s basically Die Hard in a concert venue, but with 80% of all modern action movies now aping that same structure and idea – it’s easy to overlook that simply due to the fact that the film is remarkably fun to watch. Now I’m not going to make the claim that Command Performance is a ‘good’ film, but I have to admire just how strangely effective it is. Most of the plot is horrendously predictable (I just rewatched Sudden Death with Van Damme the other day and outside of budget, the films are very similar) and often times the inept qualities of the bad guys are hilariously convenient. Not to mention, the military involvement at the end and some unfinished subplots (the cable host and her cameraman for example) tend to be glazed over quickly to focus more on the main action plot. But one has to admire that Dolph wrote and directed himself in a movie where he gets to be a rock star, save a President, and have a romantic fling with a 20-something pop star. It’s so outrageous, it’s hard not to just run with it.

As a director, Lundgren does a decent job at crafting the film. The script is where most of the issues reside (some of the characters, including his, tend to have weak development), but the film is carried by screen presence and fun action bits. Visually he tends to use a bit too much shaky cam, but when Dolph gets to jam a drum stick through a man’s skull and drop the hilarious one-liner “Don’t touch the hair, dude” in his thick very un-American accent, it’s not like the film is expecting high end art from what it has to offer. Strangely enough, even with the weak character work, there are some fun and punchy secondary performances in the film that help. The villain is owned by Legeno with his lock jaw approach, and Dolph’s partner Baharov strikes up some decent chemistry with him on screen. If only Dolph and his pop diva romance with Melissa Smith had any chemistry then we might be talking some extra points. Alas, Command Performance doesn’t have time for that as it needs more time for mercenary killing.

Let me tune this for you...ON YOUR HEAD.

Command Performance is the kind of film that, just by reading the synopsis, is going to either excite you or appall you. Thus, you know who you are and whether or not this film is going to be for you. As a B-grade action fan myself, there is a lot of pieces to enjoy in the film even if it tends to be more of the same in idea and less than serious in its execution. It’s definitely one of the better ones in Dolph’s career overall just by having fun with the idea. Command Performance is not for everyone, but if you are looking for a silly actioner for the evening then it comes with a Blood Brothers splatter of approval.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Skin Trade (2015)

Director: Ekachai Uekrongtham

Notable Cast: Dolph Lundgren, Tony Jaa, Celina Jade, Michael Jai White, Ron Perlman, Peter Weller, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa

With the advent of VOD and digital movie services, the term ‘straight to home video’ rarely defines something as ‘bad’ like it used to. For B-movie fans or those more interested in genre affair (and if you are at this site, that’s probably you) then it’s something of blessing in disguise. Low budget or off-mainstream films can suddenly get wide releases for decently cheap without having fans or curious audiences purchase the film. This also allows these same kinds of films to achieve more – without sacrificing their intentions. Take Skin Trade as a prime example. This is a film most definitely catered to the ‘old school’ action audience that blends styles of action into a highly entertaining film…that occasionally touches on a more dramatic tone. The mix doesn’t always work, but it’s much more proficient then one would expect this kind of film to be at it.

Nick (Dolph Lundgren) is on the trail of some vicious Russian sex traffickers in New Jersey. When he leads a team to seize a botched shipment, he kills the son of a ruthless businessman (Ron Perlman) who takes revenge by killing his family. Now Nick must travel to Southeast Asia as a vigilante on the run from an FBI agent (Michael Jai White) and team up with a local cop (Tony Jaa).

Lundgren gives one of the better performances of his career here. No kidding.

It’s like a B-action movie daydream. Dolph Lundgren and Tony Jaa teaming up to take down a villainous businessman in the skin trade played by Ron Perlman with glorified cameos by Peter Weller and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. This, of course, is truly the basis for a film like Skin Trade. The film is relentless and efficient in its pacing with the first half hour dedicated to story and the last two thirds dedicated to action and it uses all the classic tropes to various degrees of success. Both Dolph and Jaa give some of the best performances of their careers and we get shockingly well shot and choreographed fight sequences (of note: Tony Jaa vs Dolph Lundgren and Tony Jaa vs the underrated Michael Jai White) and the film sticks firm to its violent roots. Ever wanted to see Tony Jaa blast people with a shotgun or throw a man off of a roof and drop the one-liner “Negotiations are over?” Done. The film is full of old school vengeance themes and threaded through with bits of police corruption and loyalty. The performances are rather hit or miss, but action fans are going to eat this up.

As for the film outside of its genre-inspired movements…Skin Trade is a lot weaker. Director Ekachai Uekrongtham, known mostly for his theatrical work and a few documentaries, attempts for occasional artistic blips within the film. A scene where Lundgren finds a series of cage like cells filled with battered women strikes a remarkably somber tone in the middle of a fire fight and the film really attempts to drive its message about the horrors of the skin trade home at various times. Unfortunately, the efficient manner of its script and the often generic dialogue don’t help the film. The secondary characters remain hollow faces as characters (Michael Jai White, outside of one great fight sequence, is given nothing to work with for his character – which is a shame when he’s a stellar action star) and the film needed another 30 to 45 minutes of character and plot development to really make the more emotional and artistic beats hit home. As is, the film is simply predictable and rarely embraces a lot of the potentially impactful material it fringes on.

Jaa doing what he does best: pouring grain. AND THEN KICKING A MAN INTO IT.

However, despite it’s obvious scripting flaws and missed opportunities to add some more dramatic meat to the film (Uekrongtham tried, so I give him credit), Skin Trade is still a fun and surprisingly well executed film. Judging from its B-action dream cast, I figured the film would end up being far more simplistic and too modern. It’s neither of those. It’s a lot of old school action tropes, blended with a bit of that Thai action flair, and then cursed by being almost too ambitious for its budget and script. It’s not nearly a perfect film, but it will definitely appease those looking for a solid action thriller for rather cheap on VOD. Plus, you know, it has awesome action things like Tony Jaa fighting Michael Jai White and Dolph Lundgren with a rocket launcher. Win/win.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Expendables 3, The (2014)

Director: Patrick Hughes

Notable Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Wesley Snipes, Mel Gibson, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terry Crews, Kelsey Grammer, Glen Powell, Antonio Banderas, Victor Ortiz, Ronda Rousey, Kellan Lutz, Jet Li, Ivan Kostadinov, and a surprise cameo from Robert Davi

For me, The Expendables franchise is something of a gift. Years of money, time, and dedication to the B and A-grade action icons of three decades colliding in a fun series of films that worship the style and structures of an era that was mostly killed by the likes of Michael Bay and Paul WS Anderson. So when The Expendables 3 decided to add in a slew of young actors and actresses to the fold, I was a bit skeptical. It was deviating from what made me love the first two films. They weren’t broke, were they? Did they have to fix it? Did they really have to appeal to the youth with new hip stars and a PG-13 rating? The short answer is no. No, they didn’t. The resulting mixture of old and new school elements doesn’t always work for this third entry into the supergroup franchise. Yet even with all of the missed punches it’s hard not to have a fun time with the film. So it has that going for it.

After breaking out Doc (Snipes) from a vicious prison, The Expendables set out to finish their latest job – hunting down a guns dealer that turns out to be an old friend Stonebanks (Gibson), who was one of the founding members of the team. In a moment of fear, Barney (Stallone) decides to let his team go and recruit various younger members to help him hunt down his old adversary…but it’s going to take all of them to accomplish the mission.

Some motherfucker is always trying to ice skate uphill.

To an extent, I’m not sure why so many reviewers decided to shit on this entry of the franchise. Sure it’s a step down from both of the previous entries, but I had a massive blast with the film still as a whole…and let’s be honest, did they expect more? In the end, the basis of Expendables 3 is the same as the rest of the franchise: silly one liners, two big action set pieces, and the charisma of seeing your favorite action stars of yester year on screen. If you take it at the basics, then the film works. The one liners are funny, particularly when they note actor nuances like Snipes’ tax evasion punch or Harrison Ford remarking that Bruce Willis is ‘out of the picture,’ and director Patrick Hughes seemingly knows how to shoot an action sequence. The opening of the film and the final act are impressively balanced out when it comes to the action pacing.

A few things prevent The Expendables 3 from reaching the heights it could have.  Firstly, the PG-13 rating hurts. Not because they had to cut out all of the CGI blood, I actually approve of that, but because it hinders from some of the intensity of the performances. For Mel Gibson, he definitely felt hindered as the film’s villain as the character felt a bit muzzled and even when it comes to the final throwdown between him and Stallone you could tell that they were simply playing it safe.

Secondly, the new recruits add too many characters to the fold. The plot idea that the old guys get ‘let go’ because Barney feels like this job is going to get them killed isn’t terrible, but adding in so many new faces with too little to do and less character depth to build on sabotages the entire concept. The film spends damn near half of its time introducing them and getting them together for their first mission and I couldn’t tell you any of their names off hand. Don’t get me wrong I still think Lutz has potential to be an action star if he gets in a good film (see Java Heat and not Hercules), but the rest lack a lot of screen presence. In fact, Ronda Rousey is incredibly terrible in the film. It’s sad to think that because of the script the charismatic Snipes is sidelined for a third of the movie to make room for these folks. The only great thing that comes out of the second act in this movie is Banderas. Seriously, the guy EATS the screen and his ridiculously high-energy rambling and his action sequence at the end slathers on the fun.

The heavy artillery...armed with guns too!

The Expendables 3 is not a perfect film and it’s an obvious step down from the awesomeness of the second film. The first and third acts are still pretty fun (if you’re willing to overlook the horrible CGI) with lots of laughs and action to be had. Too bad the substandard script that features far too many characters and a dragging second act really does bog down the entire experience. I sincerely hope that the franchise survives the leaked copy and this weaker entry because there are a lot of great places for it to go.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Puncture Wounds (2014)

Directors: Giorgio Serafini, James Coyne
Notable Cast: Cung Le, Dolph Lundgren, Vinnie Jones, Briana Evigan, Gianni Capaldi
Aka: A Certain Justice

I have been anxiously awaiting for the film to really break out Cung Le as the action star he desperately wants to be, yet films like Puncture Wounds don’t do him justice. In fact, I’m not sure Puncture Wounds did anyone justice even if the title card was A Certain Justice rather than Puncture Wounds (?!). To be honest, this was a terrible fucking movie. I mean, I can see why they thought it might have made a decent low budget action flick. Too bad the execution of the film is some terrible new school attempts at gritty action that even I couldn’t get into.

John (Cung Le) is an ex-green beret finally come home from war. In an attempt to readjust to civilian life, he finds himself in a shit motel with little in the way of purpose. When he sees a prostitute being beaten in the parking lot one night, he takes it upon himself to show those guys what’s up and ends up killing a couple of them. When their boss Hillis (Lundgren) finds out, he tries to get John trapped and sets off a one man war against a massive drug and prostitution ring.

At the core of the film, Puncture Wounds really wants to be a modern First Blood. A solider who is dealing with his own internal issues comes head to head with crime tycoon? It’s a concept that could have – and should have – worked. It tries to work itself out too. The film touches on lots of potentially dramatic threads from PTSD to prostitution to child pornography to police corruption. Unfortunately, it’s a little much for the film to try and balance. We get a slew of characters with potential dramatic beats, like the main detective and his cancer stricken wife, that just don’t quite flow. Puncture Wounds needed to choose a few elements and strengthen them instead of spreading itself so thin on some many levels. It leaves the film feeling often scattered and lacking oomph for a lot of moments that could have had real impact.

It also doesn’t help that the writing for the dialogue can’t seem to figure out if it wants to be a cheesy action flick or a more serious thriller. For some pretty serious sequences, including an arc for Cung Le that starts off solid but flounders in the latter half when the film careens into resembling another entry into The Marine franchise, the actors seem intent on selling it, but the dialogue and content battles them. You end up having a decent action actor like Dolph Lundgren stroking his terrible looking mustache and spouting off generic lines about taking things to the next level. It doesn’t work.

…and then, to top it all off, directors Serafini and Coyne seemingly have no idea how to cut and shoot an action sequence. When the film opens with a later sequence of Cung Le throwing the beat down on a few thugs in an abandoned factory, I started to cringe at the modern zooms, rapid cuts, and attempted shaky cam. By the time he had his initial fight with the thugs to protect the prostitute, I gave up. That style might work for realistic thrillers and occasionally for bigger budget action films, it comes off desperate and poorly put together in a film like this. These new directors need to understand that grit and kinetic energy do not replace well choreographed action set pieces, but should be there to enhance them.

This is how I felt after watching this film.

Unfortunately, Puncture Wounds is one of those low budget actioners that give direct to home video flicks a bad name. It’s scattered in writing, the acting suffers from a script and amateur directing, and the action pieces are butchered by poor choreography and editing. Here’s to hoping that Cung Le’s next starring role is in a film that’s pieced together better than this. For now, this is a big skip even for action fans.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Dark Angel (1990)

Director: Craig R. Baxley
Notable Cast: Dolph Lundgren, Brian Benben, Betsy Brantley

While Dolph Lundgren's career might have been a bit hit or miss to this point, there was a time when he showed massive potential as a lead in the late 80s and early 90s. This period contains the massively overlooked and awesomely cheesy "Dark Angel" or as it was known in the US "I Come In Peace." While this is the kind of film that might not appeal to everyone with its over the top concept and cheesy demeanor, for anyone that loves 80s style action then "Dark Angel" is a must see kind of flick. It's silly, gritty, and has an endless supply fire ball explosions. It's everything that one could want in a B-grade action film.

Plot wise, "Dark Angel" is an utterly wacky sci-fi spin on the classic 80s buddy cop flick. This time we get the renegade 'don't-play-the-rules' cop played by Dolph Lundgren and his substantially shorter and tight FBI partner (who's played with strong comedic effect by Brian Benben) as they try to track down a load of stolen heroin. The problem is that, despite their well timed bickering and differences of opinion on how to do things, this drug was stolen by intergalactic drug dealers. Chaos ensues, explosions happen, Dolph's hair gets spikier...it just goes nuts.

Dolph circa 1990 hair.

While their are certainly some problems to this plot and story, including the fact that the aliens and our two heroes seemingly have unrelated plots until about two-thirds of the way through the film, "Dark Angel" does some pretty awesome things for its limited budget that twists in some fun cliches and some ridiculous moments. Firstly, Baxley creates a great gritty atmosphere that works in juxtaposition to some of the lighter elements of the film. At times it feels almost like a graphic novel based sort of style with the hulking tall aliens and their white eyes and the dark streets lit up with massive fireball explosions. Tonally, it's a carry over from the 80s and its great at it.

"I come in peace."

Secondly, "Dark Angel" truly balances itself well. There is enough character work and arcs to get you invested into the characters, even if they are cliche, and the combination of science fiction and action make for some great set pieces to utilize the talents of all involved. In fact, this film might have more explosions then most of the actions films in the last year combined. Even the comedic beats are well timed to add to the entire silly experience of the film. Where else can you find a movie where the villain shoots throat slashing CDs or Dolph spouts of lines like "Either you're Santa Claus or you're dead, pal!"

Great chemistry makes up for poor dialogue in many scenes...including the counting joke.

"Dark Angel" isn't all fun and games though and any self respecting film critic can plainly see the film's flaws. As previously mentioned, the film takes quite some time to get the two main plots to come together and in the mean time tends to have various subplots that mean little in the way of adding to the story. We have a dead partner in the opening sequence who is quickly forgotten, there is an entire subplot about white collar drug dealers and money men that pops up randomly, and our romantic thread is bare thin at best. Even the acting, outside of some fun bits, is fairly run of the mill. Dolph, for all of his charm, struggles with anything more than one liners and action bits and our villain ends up being far more funny than scary. "Dark Angel" isn't going to be redefining the genre by a long shot.

If you're not willing to buy into the cheesy portions of the film, you won't enjoy hardly any of this film. It is, generally speaking, a B-film, but it's a fine addition to any collector's treasure trove of B-films. It's entertaining as hell with its crazy one liners and ridiculous amounts of action even if it struggles with some cliches and underdeveloped subplots. "Dark Angel" is definitely a film for cult film fans.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

One In The Chamber (2012)

Director: William Kaufman
Notable Cast: Cuba Gooding Jr, Dolph Lundgren, Billy Murray

I most certainly don't keep it a secret that I love action films. I also don't keep it a secret that I watch a lot of straight to home video action films too. I've done my best to keep honest with you, the readers, about why I feel like straight to home video action might be one of the best overlooked genres in the system right now and it's films like "One In The Chamber" that make digging through them worth it. To be honest, I didn't have very high expectations for the film, but it's quite the serviceable film and it works more often than not as both an action film and as a crime thriller.

At this point, there isn't a whole lot that a crime thriller could do that would be considered "new" or "unique" if it's to be taken seriously. "One In The Chamber" isn't doing a lot to make it's statement on the genre either. When it comes to the thriller elements involving crime lords in Prague, betrayals, and assassins as our gunman Ray Carver (played with enough decency by Cuba Gooding Jr) is forced to play sides against two powerful king pins, "One In The Chamber" does come off as fairly formulaic. The emotional sub-plot is under developed and a bit awkward in pacing and obviously plays second fiddle to the gun-toting main plot and the film comes off as predictable overall. It's not all that original in this sense and even most of the action sequences seem to be of the general variety. Director William Kaufman adds enough flair to make them entertaining as possible, for example the rather by the numbers opening sniper hit gets a much needed boost of energy from his camera work and pacing, but those are nothing new either.

BFG = Big fuckin' gun

Let's be honest with ourselves though. "One In The Chamber" is a direct to home video affair and I didn't go into it with the highest expectations. Thusly, in the film's execution, I came out pleasantly surprised. Despite his fall from A-list status, Cuba Gooding Jr still has some decent acting chops to carry the film's emotional portion well enough with some solid voice over narration and subtle moments of the standard "hitman-with-a-conscious" role. He also shares time with ever awesome Dolph Lundgren as a pseudo-secondary lead. Any film with Dolph is a welcome film in my house and he seems way too comfortable as the charming and slightly insane 'other' hitman The Wolf here who's asked to hunt down Cuba. Dolph once again seemingly eats his scenes with vigor and his fedora n' hawaii shirt sporting hitman cries out to be franchised. If anything, I could have done with a lot more of him in this film (he shows up a bit later in the film - with a glorious entrance sequence where he takes a phone call in the middle of hit in the happening), but whenever he's onscreen he lights it up.

Dolph remains VIP even in direct to video flicks

"One In The Chamber" is the kind of film for fans of finding decent low budget flicks. It's not going to be winning over the harsh artsy critics or the even the more fickle cinephiles, but those looking for a well executed cheap rental are sure to find plenty of entertainment here. It's a well executed film that has to earn its merits with charming characters and director flair over it's mediocre script, but "One In The Chamber" does just that and won me over.

BONUS: The film also hints at the prospect of franchising both of the lead characters. In all fairness it's a long shot, but I sincerely hope that they do because it was way too much fun watching Dolph do his quirky routine in this film. It could end up being a great direct to home video buddy hitman series!

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Package, The (2013)

Director: Jesse V. Johnson
Notable Cast: Steven Austin, Dolph Lundgren

Now that "The Expendables" and the "Fast & Furious" franchises have kick started this trend of pairing or teaming up a slew of action stars together, even the lower budget films have been running with this idea. I was intrigued by the idea of having Steve Austin and Dolph Lundgren duke it out for "The Package" as one caters to a younger audience and the other to an older, but I kept my expectations low due to its rather low budget and straight to home video release. Fortunately, the film came out as far more competent than I expected - even if its still not great overall.

Tommy (Austin) has been working has a hired hitter for a local crime lord to earn some extra cash for his 'specific skill set.' When he is specifically chosen to deliver a small package to a rival crime lord only known as The German (Lundgren), Tommy finds himself being chased by killers, thugs, and assassins. What could this package be and why does everyone seem to want to kill for it?

"Who are you, the acting police?"

Obviously the appeal of this film is the head to head showdown and/or partnership of our two leading action heroes. "The Package" does end up being more about Steve Austin's character than Lundgren's villain though. While Lundgren does eat up a lot of the scenery as a sick crime lord with no remorse in gutting anyone (while making smoothies and describing whey they're healthy in one scene), the film very much sticks with Austin as a protagonist to drive the action. While Austin is fairly strong in the action sequences, the man is a terrible, terrible actor. I just recently watched "Maximum Conviction" with him and needless to say, the man can't even deliver the occasional action one liner correctly. It's frustrating throughout this film to watch him act like a tree trunk.

Believe it or not, I actually quite enjoyed the plot of the film though. It might tend to run into a few chiche moments, like Tommy's girlfriend or the final twist about what the package exactly is, but overall it moves at a brisk pace and throws in enough action sequences to keep an action fan entertained. While some of the action might not make sense, for example, why do the men keep working with their construction equipment at night while multiple men are duking it out in the ally, but its fairly strong anyway and keeps the film moving. The film has some solid moments of plot structure that kicked up a notch, including a very interesting dynamic between Tommy and his boss that had me intrigued, and that really makes a difference in the end.

It beats "In The Name Of The King 3", eh?

While I wouldn't consider "The Package" a great film overall, it does succeed on a few levels that surprised me. It has some pretty strong fight choreography, some solid plot elements, and Lundgren once again steals the film when he's on screen. It's too bad the final fight wasn't all that great, but it's take it or leave it. "The Package" will entertain action fans, even if it doesn't blow them away.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Red Scorpion (1989) [Matt's Reveiw]

Director: Joseph Zito
Notable Cast: Dolph Lundgren, M. Emmet Walsh, Al White, T.P. McKenna, Brion James

As the golden age of action film making manifested itself into the early 90s, there were a few overlooked gems that existed. Normally, as a writer that focuses on modern cult cinema, I don't get to dig out these kind of under-viewed classics, but as it would have it a beautiful new Blu Ray of "Red Scorpion" ended up in my collection and I just happened to be starting a running feature for the site about Dolph Lundgren. Thusly we start with what was supposed to be one of Dolph's big lead roles in "Red Scorpion." A film directed by Joseph Zito and starring Dolph? "Red Scorpion" is B-grade action gold even if it's a film that fell through the cracks far too much when it was initially released.

Lt. Nikolai Rachenko (Lundgren) has been chosen for a very special assignment. He is sent to infiltrate an anti-communist African rebellion to assassinate it's leader to help the Russian led government. When he discovers that the rebels are the good guys against the oppressive Russians, he fails his mission and is disgraced. Now its up to him to help these rebels fight back against the corrupt military that turned their backs on him.

He must see Dolph's haircut.

It's pretty easy to see that "Red Scorpion" is 'technically' not going to be good film. For the same reasons that the film is B-grade action gold, it's going to be a film that will earn the ire from those not of a cult film taste. Even compared to other Joseph Zito films like "Invasion U.S.A.", "Red Scorpion" feels a little subdued by a hindered budget and some odd moments in the film. Other than some smaller elements, which will be talked about in a minute, "Red Scorpion" succeeds as an entertaining action flick with a larger than life hero and some fun moments. The action is pretty solid, there is a pretty impressive/explosive car chase that occurs at the the end of the first act, and Dolph keeps a larger than life feeling on screen. He delivers a few classic one liners that had me rolling on the floor and, despite his short shorts in the last half, I was loving Dolph in this role.

They hate those shorts too.

Now the film is far from perfect as the story comes off as a bit silly with its obvious anti-Russian/Communist themes (well, it is an American action film from 1989) and the film can be uproariously cheesy. The entire middle portion as our hero goes from being a tool of war to a man respectful of his life and its meaning drags a bit and can be a bit of a bore. Seeing Dolph learning to hunt wild pig and befriend a 'bushman' from Africa has its comedic merits and it does give him a bit of character arc without overloading him with more than 10 lines of dialogue, but it drags.

The body paint might be a little overkill, particularly in a mid day siege.

"Red Scorpion" tends to be a little overzealous in its broad stroke themes, but at least the film is entertaining as hell. It has some great bad dialogue, the film is populated with fun character actors, and the action is pretty top notch considering its limited budget. Is it going to be an action film for everyone? Nah, but if you love that old school over the top and limited brain capacity style that the 80s delivered in action then this is a must have.

Written By Matt Reifschneider