Tag Archives: wwe

The Condemned 2

action, legend, , , , ,

TheCondemedIn the ring, Randy Orton is close to being WWE’s most lethal idol. Being a third generation wrestler gives him the DNA talent that makes him a legend in his own honorable way. “The Viper” is his ring name for the way he can strike like a snake from nowhere. By the token of his talent in the ring, one would think his acting hits the mark as well.

Directed by Roel Reiné, The Condemned 2 is not the ringer WWE fans would like to see. The movie is a sequel to the Steve Austin movie released in 2007. The movie was knocked out before the end of the first round.  Surprisingly, WWE Studios never throws in the towel, and the studio keeps making modicum movies with their wrestlers.

With the visceral of taking on the bad guys, Orton plays bounty hunter Will Tanner. Tanner and his team are on a mercenary venture with the intention of capturing a leader, played by Wes Studi. He runs a tournament where challengers are forced to kill one another in televised games. Tanner’s operation hits a glitch right off the bat, and his team misses out on any potential cash they would have been rewarded for the capture of the leader.  Identically, Will is in difficulty with the law because they are not happy with his day job as a bounty hunter.

Tanner turns into more than a wanted man once a newcomer to the games Raul, played by Steven Michael Quezada, recreates the televised games. Not only he makes Tanner primary target but it is not long before Will is kidnapped.  He is hurled into fighting for his life and survival against his former team. A flash of big shots betting on Tanner’s chance of survival is set among a lively cast of warriors and places Tanner up against interesting fighting styles.

Reine seems to do a decent job of directing with the budget available. He can blow things up with cookie cutter choreography mapping out a so-so plot. The hodgepodge, dull soldiers take whimsical shots at Tanner through rifle scopes. They even put him through a desert with land mines.  Still, nothing seems to work for the movie because so much potential is lost in the acting and budget constraints

Vendetta

action, movies, police drama, , , ,

vendettaDirected by twins Jen and Sylvia Soska, Vendetta is a movie shot predominately in a prison, which keeps the production cost down. Produced by the WWE and starring wrestler Paul “The Big Show” Wight as a massive villain. Vendetta is billed as an action movie, and the male dominated tone surprises me that two women directed this WWE brand of entertainment.

The movie stars Dean Cain as Mason, a strong, crusty detective who we meet in the opening scene. He apprehends Victor, played by Wight, but is released on a technicality. Victor is out for revenge and arrives at Mason’s home and beats his wife, played by Kyra Zagorsky, to death and gets caught.

Mason snaps and embarks on a vendetta against the man who shattered his life. He kills Victor’s brother, played by Aleks Paunovic, and is thrown in the same prison where Victor is serving his time.

Victor holds quite a bit of power in the prison and calls the shots. Getting involved in one violent altercation after another, now a former cop, Mason meets the prison’s sleazy warden, played entertainingly by Michael Eklund. He called him into his office after one of his attackers is placed in the hospital by Mason.

The warden scolds Mason and decides his pal Victor can eliminate Mason for him.  Mason asks his former partner in the police force, played by Ben Hollingsworth, to help him nail the corrupted warden and his cohorts.

How the story unfolds from here is endless fight scenes showing off Cain’s muscle toned body.  Cain is good and delivers a physical performance worth watching. Wight’s massive body regales convincingly as he struts like a professional wrestler when he choke holds opponent after opponent.

The story builds to a prison riot as part of the ending of the movie.