The Specialist (1994)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Luis Llosa

Writers (WGA):

John Shirley (Specialist novels) (suggestion)
Alexandra Seros (written by)

Release Date:

7 October 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

The government taught him to kill. Now he's using his skills to help a woman seek revenge against the Miami underworld.

Plot:

A woman entices a bomb expert she's involved with into destroying the mafia that killed her family.

Plot Keywords:

Parent | CIA | Revenge | Miami Florida | Explosives Expert

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Sylvester Stallone	...	Ray Quick
Sharon Stone	...	May Munro (aka Adrian Hastings)
James Woods	...	Ned Trent
Rod Steiger	...	Joe Leon
Eric Roberts	...	Tomas Leon
Mario Ernesto Sánchez	...	Charlie
Sergio Doré Jr.	...	Strongarm
Chase Randolph	...	Stan Munro, May's Dad
Jeana Bell	...	Alice Munro, May's Mom
Brittany Paige Bouck	...	Young May
Emilio Estefan Jr.	...	Piano Player
LaGaylia Frazier	...	Singer #1
Ramón González Cuevas	...	Priest at Cemetery
Tony Munafo	...	Tony
Cheito Quinonez	...	Singer at Party

Also Known As:

El especialista (Peru)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

Peru | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (original rating) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA (original rating) | Australia:M (TV rating) | Canada:14A | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Poland:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | UK:15 (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Cookeville, Tennessee, USA

Company:

Iguana Producciones

Trivia:

David Fincher was set to direct this at one stage. Sylvester Stallone liked Fincher but he was overruled by the producers.

Goofs:

Continuity: The window in the hotel was broken by the henchman flying through it. But when the room falls into the water the glass is fine.

Quotes:

Ned: [to old couple trying to get on elevator; old man wearing a colorful shirt] Where are you going? Hey, use the stairs, this one's full. Get outta here! Get a new shirt.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995)

Soundtrack:

All Because of You

Over-The-Top-But Entertaining Revenge Flick

Hey, I enjoy a good revenge movie as well as the next guy, even though I know forgiveness is the better way. Revenge films satisfy base urges in all of us. But, holy smokes, this crosses the line a little bit with the glorification of such....at least with the ending (which I won't give away but involves Sharon Stone's character).

Along the way is a fun ride as the revenge-obsessed Stone hires Sylvester Stallon (The Specialist, a term for his bomb-making talents) to kill all the people responsible for her parents' murder years earlier.

The villains are over-the-top, to say the least. One almost has to laugh out loud at one of them: James Woods. Few people in his era (70s and 80s mainly) were better at playing despicable villains than Woods, and in this film he plays that role to the hilt. He also rattles off the best line in the movie when he tells some tourist to "get a new shirt, too."

The other villains are played by Eric Roberts and Rod Steiger. Roberts is nasty and arrogant all the way and Steiger - as he has so often since the 1970s - appears cartoonish in his over-acting.

The film moves quickly which means it's very entertaining and some of the bombing scenes are quite memorable, such as a chunk of a condo building falling into the ocean.

Even though the villains are really nasty, there are no "good guys" here, either. Everyone is seriously flawed, as is the message of the film. I guess this is one of those "guilty pleasure" movies they talk about, because I still enjoy watching it every five or so years.