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Fiendrunner74
Reviews
Mercenaries (2014)
This film is best used to fertilize your garden.
What a load of steaming manure. There is a basic quality to the plot, some of the acting is OK, the rest is horrific. You know you are in trouble when Kristina Loken puts in a performance significantly better than any one else. The fight choreography has some, er, nope, it ranges from average to poor, with most of the fault lying in the hands of the chimp that directed this and his ham fisted editor. I have seen worse premises for films, but whoever thought that taking the concept of The Expendables for women, adding the premise from Snake Pliskin, and handing over 1/10th of the budget really must have owed someone a soul to get this pile of tripe made. I love cheesy bad action films, it is a weakness for me, and I will forgive most things. But holy cow this film is just bad on too many levels and never makes fun of itself, it is trying to be good, and failing on every possible level. Bad directing of mostly bad actors, no finance, no continuity, not pacing, no rhythm, no originality (except new lows) nothing to redeem it. Watch Expendables and Escape from New York in stead. If you like the actresses watch Death Proof and Blood Rayne. Still not good movies, but a lot better than this.
Max Payne (2008)
Teaching an old dog new tricks!
It is a common sight these days, the computer game goes to Hollywood, what is not so common is a plot that does not insult your intelligence. The Max Payne game worked very hard to add a noir style to the First Person Shooter, and this movie brings only those elements to a very good story. Max Payne lays on the visuals pretty thick, but creates a good cinematic vibe. The "Bullet Time" concept that was so well toted in the game is used very well, without looking like a game trick, while the comic book characters while not fully detailed are given a realness that is refreshing for the genre. I was at first skeptical about the introduction of supernatural themes to the movie, and was again pleased by the way this was handled by the film. Overall, it will never be a great tale, but it handles an old story with new visuals and interest very well. First and foremost I judge a film on its entertainment value, and this film is very entertaining.