Ving Rhames is an ex-cop whose sister, who is a drug addict, was nearly killed by a drug lord (though its all assumption, we’re never told he is a drug lord because he’s so broadly developed), and now he’s on the quest for vengeance despite the warnings of his ex-partner and grizzled ex-boss played by the always great Brian Cox in a small thankless role. He shouldn’t even be considered a part of the cast because he is so wasted in this film it goes beyond unfunny. The somewhat talented Ving Rhames is terrible in this as the lead character Eddie. I’m not sure if it’s the hackneyed writing or his acting alone, but he’s bad.
When he’s supposed to be emotional, he’s as stale as a cardboard cut out, and when he’s supposed to be mean and heroic, he either overplays his part spouting his awkward lines or he chews the scenery. His character is a one dimensional generic caricature of a typical action hero, except he walks around with an arm that he never uses because he lost use of it attempting to save his partner from a falling engine block. It would never occur to the hospital to simply amputate it, but then it would probably go over the low-budget to use special effects. Throughout the entire film we’re supposed to believe he’s a really strong person, but it becomes a bit far-fetched watching him lift people with one arm. At one point his ex-partner and boss consider putting him in jail but realize how pointless it would be due to his immense strength. Rhames talks with an almost Southern accent considering he was a street cop and tramples around like a raging bull hitting anyone and everyone who gets in his way.
Director Michael Stevens creates an overtly grim and atmospheric movie with tedious attempts at philosophy, never considering that philosophy has no place in such a terrible film like this. The acting by Rhames wouldn’t be so hard to endure if the film were written, directed, and edited better, but all of it is a mess. Gary Oldman is the only one that makes it out of this film unscathed. He’s a great actor and often is able to bring any terrible film from the trenches, and he shines in this film doing what he does best: playing a villain. The worst aspect of this has to be the incredibly sloppy and slapdash editing. There are scenes that cut away too fast from an action scene, cut too fast for the audience to comprehend what’s happening before their eyes, or completely ruin an emotion intense moment. This is yet another cookie cutter straight to video action flick with a wasted cast of talented actors attempting to pass itself off as original and philosophical.