A Guilty Pleasure…
Sometimes, when watching a movie containing less than award-winning performances, gawd-awful choreography, bad writing and really terrible dialogue, you end up enjoying it anyway, and that’s basically what happened here. (AKA The Uwe Boll Syndrome) I actually enjoyed watching it, with Vinnie Jones kicking ass as his usual scowling self, Dolph Lundgren’s attempt at a monologue, and the sexy Jelly Howie providing much needed “real” eye candy. There were loads of topless, large breasted women on display, but the beautiful Jelly not only looks great, but can clearly act to a decent standard. As for the others, Billy Zane was expectedly good and Gianni Capaldi put in a very physical and respectable performance, but the writing and editing I call into question. FBI agents behaving like that? Seriously? I wonder which of the trio of writers were responsible for that and quite a few other bewilderments.
Thanks to the odd cuts, the flow was lost somewhere along the way. My favourite line was “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.” I could swear I’ve heard that somewhere before but I watch so many movies I could be wrong. Mmm. There were a few other classics but the best scenes that almost choked me with laughter were the computer hacking by Loryn (Howie) and Quinn (Zane) or the one where Quinn and Campbell (Jones) meet up with an Asian gangster. The way the guys were posing was a tad ridiculous looking.
- Blood of Redemption
- Directed by
Giorgio Serafini - Cast
Dolph Lundgren, Billy Zane, Gianni Capaldi, Vinnie Jones, Jelly Howie, Robert Miano - Release Date
24 September 2013 - Nav’s Grade: C+
The music was of the Roadhouse variety with heavy use of the Wah pedal and loads of Fender strings being bent. How thoroughly original. The punch-ups were something else, where everyone was missing each other by a country mile and throwing these huge roundhouse swings that would have knocked out an elephant but they needed to actually aim at their opponent and not the overhead stage-lights. Regardless, it was a fun movie that I enjoyed. I wonder why there were two directors listed because this wasn’t a movie that had so much going on that it needed more than one, but perhaps the assistant got promoted and is very common when others meddle. The writing was not really happening and the time spent on attempts at plot twists would have been better served tidying up the flow, dialogue and character actions. That said, this is a low-budget film and only cost $2 million and is a straight-to-DVD effort, so when put into perspective, it almost balances itself out. Almost.
Mob boss Serge Forte has just found out his police protection is no longer guaranteed and decides to quit. His eldest son Quinn isn’t keen on the idea and continues doing business. The younger son Kurt (Capaldi) has been accepted into the FBI (having all your family in the mob is no longer frowned upon by the Bureau, allegedly). Axel (Lundgren) is the family bodyguard who normally accompanies Quinn wherever he goes but when Quinn goes to a meet, he decides to take the newly arrived Londoner, Campbell (Jones) along as back-up, where they end up involved in a shoot-out with Quinn being arrested. Quinn’s father is killed, then Campbell and his uncle take over everything, and after three years Axel and Quinn’s wife try to find out who was really responsible for Serge’s murder. Kurt is now an established Fed, and is able to recklessly investigate the suspects, which he does at one point by charging in with a gun in each hand. Quinn is released from prison and asks Axel to help find out what really happened.
Review by Nav Qateel, Film Critic
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