Redemption (2002) (V)

User Rating:

4.3/10   

Director:

Art Camacho

Writer:

Jack Capece (writer)

Release Date:

28 May 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action

Plot Keywords:

Rogue Cop | Drug Dealing | SWAT Team | Explosion | Policewoman Killing

Cast

Don 'The Dragon' Wilson	...	John Sato Collins
Chris Penn	...	Tony Leggio
James Russo	...	Capt. Grill
Cynthia Rothrock	...	Erin Murphy
Richard Norton	...	Tom 'Snake' Sasso
Randy Brooks	...	Phillips (as Randolph Brooks)
Sam J. Jones	...	The Brick (as Sam Jones)
Carrie Stevens	...	Tara
Richard Beattie	...	Nick
Chuck Borden	...	Wes
Kevin Knotts	...	Rat
Khrystyne Haje	...	Nancy
Eddie Mui	...	Joey Lam
Peter Cunningham	...	Junior
Nikki Bokal	...	April

MPAA:

Rated R for language, drug use, sexuality and some violence.

Runtime:

Spain:86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:18 | Iceland:16 | Germany:16 | Spain:18 | USA:R | Italy:T

So called action film which fails to deliver in hardly any way at all

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

John Sato (Don 'The Dragon' Wilson) is a S.W.A.T. commander who believes in putting civilian lives before those of his fellow officers.On a routine drugs bust,however,his actions result in fellow officer and love interest Erin Murphy (Cynthia Rothrock) being killed.Forced to turn in his badge,he finds himself lured in to the world of mob boss Tony Leggio (Chris Penn).It is from here that he must choose to either continue to follow the path of good or take a detour down the course of evil.

The credited cast list of Redemption alone should wet the appetite of any fan of DTV,B movie action films,with genre favourites Wilson,Rothrock and Richard Norton all starring,as well as supporting cast members in the shape of Penn and James Russo.Sadly,an attractive cover has again proved a misleading lurance for this cynical old fool.This is a dreary,meandering effort that,for an action film,there is abundantly little of.Even on the kickboxing front,which three of the credited cast members are proficent experts in,it fails to deliver with only one or two scenes to tickle the fancy.In fact,for MA stars,I don't think I remember Rothrock or Norton performing any to speak of.

I haven't really seen enough of Wilson's films to do him justice by speaking of how good his martial arts skills truly are (then again no one watching this film would get that good an impression of them anyway!),but of the few films of his I have seen,I can safely say he is a truly blank,wooden-as-a-box actor.Even for a DTV action star,his embarrassing lack of charisma and drab delivery really are rather styfling to watch.And-so-say-all-of-us for fellow MA stars Rothrock and (especially) Norton,who are also especially lame here.Whilst Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs really launched the careers of Tim Roth and Steve Buscemi,it is a cruel irony that all fellow co-stars Michael Madsen and Penn (who were,after all,just as talented) were ever able to enjoy was a career in low-budget,DTV action duds.And low budget really is the name of the game here.The film is filmed in a really cheaply shot,close range camera style,with distracting,barely audible voice dubbing.Not that you should have really expected anything more,but,all the same...

As for the story,it had promise,but it is told in such an unengaging way that,even with a script that offers occasional sparkle,it never manages to be the sum of it's parts.

Shame,really.**