Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Stranger

As action/adventure movies starring wrestlers-turned-actors go, THE STRANGER is okay. Steve Austin (I don’t think he uses the Stone Cold moniker anymore) plays a guy with amnesia who is being chased by crooked FBI agents, honest FBI agents, Russian mobsters, and a Mexican drug cartel. There’s plenty of shooting and fighting and Stuff Blowing Up Real Good as he tries to figure out who he really is and why all these people are after him, all with the help of a beautiful female doctor. The plot manages to be extremely complex but predictable at the same time. Still, it’s a fairly entertaining hour and a half, and I think it’s an improvement over Austin’s previous film, THE CONDEMNED.

6 comments:

Brian Drake said...

Sounds like a rehash of one of the movies in the Bloodfist series, number three or four. And for a moment, James, I thought you were talking about the Orson Welles movie of the same name.

James Reasoner said...

Heh. I had forgotten all about the Orson Welles movie. I guess next they should do one called CITIZEN KANE, starring the wrestler who goes by that name. (On the other hand, don't give 'em any ideas.)

Anonymous said...

How were the fighting and action scenes?
I've really been impressed with how intense and imaginative the action scenes have gotten in what are essentially direct-to-DVD films. For example, movies like The Tournament, Ninja, and Universal Soldier: Regeneration, all have a number of action scenes as well choreographed and shot those in any big budget flick.
This is one of the few trends in modern movies I have to applaud.

John Hocking

Fred Blosser said...

I take it the credits do not say, "Based on the novel by Al Camus."

Evan Lewis said...

I hope not, Fred. I almost didn't click over here because I was afraid James was turning literary on us.

James Reasoner said...

The action scenes are okay. Not a lot of that quick-cut editing.

I've actually read good ol' Al Camus' novel, but it was a long time ago.