Damage (2009)

Director:

Jeff King

Writer:

Frank Hannah (screenplay)

Genre:

Action

Plot:

An ex-con battles it out in the cage to pay for the operation that would save the daughter of his victim. Along the way he finds fatherly love, and friendship, in the most unlikely of places. |

Plot Keywords:

Blood | One Word Title

Cast

Steve Austin	...	John Brickner
Lynda Boyd	...	Veronica
William B. Davis	...	Veltz
Walton Goggins	...	Reno
Michael Hanus	...	Yayo
Adrian Holmes	...	Ray Sharp
Eric Keenleyside	...	Val Sullivan
Phillip Mitchell	...	Munson
Jorge Montesi	...	Nestor
Clifton MaCabe Murray	...	Rich Guy
Giles Panton	...	Rich Guy #2
Donnelly Rhodes	...	Deacon
Ryan Smale	...	Player #1
Laura Vandervoort	...	Frankie

Also Known As:

Damage 2010 (USA) (poster title)

MPAA:

Rated R for bloody violence and language.

Runtime:

USA:102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45402) | Australia:MA (2009)

Filming Locations:

Langley, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

NGN Productions

Trivia:

Real fighters were hired as jobbers to make the fighting sequences more realistic.

Yep, it's bad.

There's a workable story hiding in there somewhere, but it's mostly obscured by mind-numbingly cheap fights, a clichéd soundtrack and general DTV feel.

Stone Cold Steve Austin is John Brickner, a recently paroled ex-con. He is aided by Veronica (Lynda Boyd), the widow of the man John was imprisoned for killing. However, Veronica's help is not motivated by forgiveness or understanding, but rather by a need to have John help her with her own desperate agenda.

Needing money and fast, John befriends underground fight agent Reno (Walton Goggins) and his girlfriend Frankie (Laura Vandervoort). Together they enter a fight circuit hoping that the rewards of victory will solve their respective dilemmas.

The acting in "Damage" is sub-par. Here I don't evaluate Steve Austin because you aren't expecting much. Laura Vandervoort is a little bit of eye candy, but her character seems more interested in appearing scene than actually helping her man out. Walton Goggins is too old for his role and is very inconsistent. Sometimes he's convincing, sometimes very dry --- but you can never put a finger on what his character really values. Instead of helping his woman, his character seems to gamble all his spare dollars away.

Thematically the film is a Christian tract with an "original sin" subtext. Necessarily, this leads to a class warfare view of social relationships whereby everyone is either portrayed as a "master" or a "slave" due to their debts --- moral, economic or otherwise. By consequence this perpetuates the bromides that money = root of all evil, and happiness consists of a duty ethic.

And oh yeah, rich whitey is behind it all.

Many action film fans are willing to overlook genre clichés if the film has exciting fights, like in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". But the fights in "Damage" consist of unrealistic blood splatter and mindless repetition, so it's doubtful that even the action buffs will be satisfied. Steve Austin only throws hay-makers (which rarely appear to connect),and his primary fighting attribute seems to be that he is "Stone Cold", i.e., takes a beating without getting knocked out.

The "final fight" of the film hearkens back to the cheese of mid-80's action flicks, but without the enjoyable payoff. Captive audiences should not be made to endure such a ruthless conglomeration of "YOU CAN DO IT!" aerobic workout music and extreme body greasing. It's not 1986 anymore, and there's just no excuse for direction of this kind.

The whole film is summed up by the homophobic hug given at the end:

Weak.